2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 21st

2/3 last night. Can you take a guess which team let me down? The Islanders and the Predators are going home. Nashville simply got outworked by San Jose but the Islanders had a bigger problem, they simply didn't show up. Later tonight, Dallas gets sent home... at home.

Tonight's Games:

Calgary Flames (2) at Detroit Red Wings (2) : The Calgary Flames need to find a way to play their away games like they are home games. This series has seen the home team win each game and tonight will not be any different. Detroit will step up at home and take the lead in the series. This one is going to 7.

Vancouver Canucks (3) at Dallas Stars (2) : This series is a mirror flop of the Flames-Wings series. Dallas cannot win at home but has managed to steal two in Vancouver. Unfortunately for the Stars they are up for elimination again tonight, but this time at home. Wave goodbye Dallas, you need more than 1 point from your top 2 scorers, Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen, to get through round 1 of the playoffs.

Recaps Day 11:

New York Islanders 3 (1) at Buffalo Sabres 4 (4) : Congratulations on making the playoffs New York, it's too bad that you didn't show up for them. The New York Islanders just haven't gotten the production they needed from their #1 players to get through the Sabres. Not that they would have been able to get through them even if those guys had shown up. Buffalo got what they needed from all lines in this series and will now take a rest while their second round opponent is decided. It doesn't help that prior to the game Islanders defenseman Sean Hill was hit with a 20 game suspension by the NHL for violating the drug policy. Nice way to end the season.

Tampa Bay Lightning 0 (2) at New Jersey Devils 3 (3) : Martin Brodeur finally remembered why he is perhaps the best NHL goalie of all time and he simply decided that it was time for the Devils to remind everyone why they need to be feared in the post season. Brodeur got his first shutout of the 2007 NHL Playoffs to give the Devils a 3-2 series lead. If this means that Brodeur is back, goodbye Lightning.

San Jose Sharks 3 (4) at Nashville Predators 2 (1) : For the second year in a row the Nashville Predators are ousted from the playoffs in 5 games by the San Jose Sharks. Nashville managed to stake themselves to a 1 goal lead early in the second period but couldn't manage to stay out of the penalty box giving the Sharks 5 tries in the second period alone. This is truly bad news for the Predators and could spell the end of the franchise in Nashville, we'll have to wait and see as they wait to tee off.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 20th

3/4 last night. The Wild had to go and get pummeled to screw up my predictions, both the Wild and the Penguins head to the golf course after last nights losses. 2 teams are on the brink of elimination tonight, the Islanders will be going home but the Predators will live to see another game, but only 1 more.

Tonight's Games:

New York Islanders (1) at Buffalo Sabres (3) : The Isles get bounced tonight, they simply cannot deal with the speed and skill that Buffalo presents on their top 3 lines. Alexei Yashin will again see limited playing time as he proves once again that he is just not a clutch player. No shutouts, but the score should be lopsided in Buffalo's favour.

Tampa Bay Lightning (2) at New Jersey Devils (2) : This series will very likely go to 7 games and the Devils will get the win tonight on home ice. The Devils are hoping to have Colin White back tonight to help control Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis who have scored 8 of the 12 goals that the Lightning have scored in this series. Martin Brodeur has yet to play at the level we expect of him in this series. If he doesn't find his form soon I will have to adjust my predictions and go with the Lightning to win this series, but tonight my pick is the Devils.

San Jose Sharks (3) at Nashville Predators (1) : Nashville is determined to screw up my predictions. San Jose has simply exerted their will on this series. They have out hustled and out worked the Predators so far. If game 5 was in San Jose I would be picking the Sharks here but I think home ice will give the Preds the extra kick they need to get past the Sharks tonight.

Recaps Day 10:

Pittsburgh Penguins 0 (1) at Ottawa Senators 3 (0) : The Sens were just too much for the Pens in round 1. The Penguins went 0-6 on the power play last night and had not managed a goal in 17 tries on the power play in this series. Ottawa's big defensive tandem of Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips were successful in shutting down Crosby for most of the series and Evgeni Malkin never became a factor. Still this season has to be considered a success for the Penguins, just making it into the playoffs was completely unexpected of this team. Regardless, it is now time to say goodbye to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Senators will face either the New York Islanders (not gonna happen), New Jersey Devils (my selection) or the New York Rangers in round 2 depending upon the outcomes of those series.

Detroit Red Wings 2 (b) at Calgary Flames 3 (2) : The Flames even up the series with another strong effort at home led by Miikka Kirprusoff and strong special teams play. If Calgary is going to survive round 1 they need to find a way to bring the team that played last night to Detroit.

Dallas Stars 1 (2) at Vancouver Canucks 0 (3) : Marty Turco gets his second shutout and his first overtime win in 7 tries in the playoffs. Vancouver was called for too many men on the ice in overtime and it cost them the game despite some stellar goaltending from Roberto Luongo. Again the Canucks low scoring offence shoots blanks and the Stars head back to Dallas in an effort to keep this series alive. Unfortunately that is probably the worst thing that could happen for Dallas, expect them to depart after Saturday's game 6.

Anaheim Ducks 4 (4) at Minnesota Wild 1 (1) : The Wild go home despite the strong play of rookie Finnish goaltender Niklas Backstrom throughout the series. The Anaheim tandem of Ilya Bryzgalov and J.S. Giguere have been stellar and managed to stifle the offense of Minnesota. As an example of how weak the offense for the Wild was in this series, regular season team points leader Brian Rolston only managed 2 points in this series while Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom managed 1, an assist on the Wild's only goal last night. This was a highly entertaining series, not because of fast paced offensive hockey, but because of the brutal physicality of the series. During warmups last night Derek Boogard and George Parros began pushing and shoving and Teemu Selanne took a puck in the face from some as yet undetermined source. By the end of the game Selanne was joking that he looked like Rocky as he had cuts over both eyes that required stitches. See ya Wild, unfortunately for you golf season has not quite started in Minnesota so you will have to sit on your hands for a week or so before you can hit the golf course.

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 18th

From the NHL Highlight Machine

New Jersey Devils 4 (2) at Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (2) Game 4:



Atlanta Thrashers 2 (0) at New York Rangers 4 (4) Game 4:



Buffalo Sabres 4 (3) at New York Islanders 2 (1) Game 4 :



Nashville Predators 2 (1) at San Jose Sharks 3 (3) Game 4 :


NOTE: The full highlight package video for this game seems to be broken but the individual highlight videos for goals and such are working.



You can see more video highlights and weekly specials on NHL.com.

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

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap, Video Highlights and Predictions - Apr 18th

Atlanta Flames head coach Bob Hartley ruined my predictions last night. Despite giving up 3 first period goals and 2 second period goals Hartley stuck with Kari Lehtonen all through the 7-0 pounding that the Rangers put on the Thrashers last night.

Tonights Games:

New Jersey Devils (1) at Tampa Bay Lightning (2) : If anything I would call this a classic playoff series. The two teams split the games on New Jersey's home ice and I expect them to do the same in Tampa tonight. Look for Brodeur to be sharp as the Devil's even the series up 2-2 to head home for game 5.

Atlanta Thrashers (0) at New York Rangers (3) : Here is the first sweep of the 2007 NHL Playoffs. The Thrashers have been absolutely horrible in the playoffs and they still have gotten only 1 point out of there top 3 scorers. Atlanta coach Bob Hartley will be starting Johan Hedberg in net tonight as the Thrashers try to stave off elimination.

Buffalo Sabres (2) at New York Islanders (1) : The Sabres dominated on the ice in game 3 and look to continue there momentum into game 4 tonight. Briere and Vanek will have another good game as Buffalo take a 3-1 series lead with the chance to close out the series on Friday night at home.

Nashville Predators (1) at San Jose Sharks (2) : The Sharks brought there game to a new level in game 3 and completely owned the Predators. I doubt the Preds are going to like that much. Nashville will get rookie Alexander Radulov back tonight after he served a one game suspension for hitting Steve Bernier from behind. I look for his return to spark the veterans in the Nashville dressing room as the Predators win their first playoff road game in 7 tries.

Recaps Day 8:

Atlanta Thrashers 0 (0) at New York Rangers 7 (3) :
(click image to watch)
This series is all but over now. I'm not sure what was more confusing last night? Bob Hartley's refusal to pull Kari Lehtonen even after 5 goals in the first two periods... Or the image of Ilya Kovalchuk dropping the gloves with super pest Sean Avery. I'm not sure what surprised me more, the fact that Kovalchuk was actually in a hockey fight, or that Kovalchuk was actually at the game. The fight was one of the few times I noticed him on the ice last night.

Ottawa Senators 2 (3) at Pittsburgh Penguins 1 (1) :
(click image to watch)


Pittsburgh played a committed game last night in an attempt to even up the series but the Senators squeaked one out partly due to a fluky goal by Jason Spezza 3.5 minutes into the first period. The second surprise of the night was a game winning goal by Ottawa defenseman Anton Volchnekov who scored only once in 78 regular season games this season. Ottawa managed to smother Sidney Crosby and have effectively quieted Evgeni Malkin all series long. So much for my 7 game series prediction, Ottawa will close this one out on Thursday at home.

Vancouver Canucks 2 (3) at Dallas Stars 1 (1) :
(click image to watch)



The Dallas Stars played a committed game last night and pushed the Canucks deep into the third period in a scoreless tie. Unfortunately for the Stars it was Vancouver who came out on top. A game saving goal line save by Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell preserved the win for Vancouver. Dallas is on the verge of being eliminated in the first round after 5 games for the third straight time, a problem that goes back to their inability to win on home ice. They have now lost 6 straight at home in the playoffs.

Anaheim Ducks 1 (3) at Minnesota Wild 4 (1) :
(click image to watch)

The Minnesota Wild were determined not to be swept by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round this year. A complete team effort resulted in a convincing win on home ice for the Wild to stave off elimination. Jacques Lemaire combined the Wild's top 3 scorers on one line in an effort to produce the offense that had been lacking in the series first three games. It worked, as the trio combined for 2 goals and 5 total points in the do or die win.

Detroit Red Wings 2 (2) at Calgary Flames 3 (1) :
(click image to watch)

The Calgary Flames are a completely different team at home than they are on the road. The seven mile stares that we saw on Calgary's bench in game 1 and 2 were gone in game 3 and replaced with an intensity that was apparent in the outcome. Jarome Iginla scored the game winning goal in the third period as Calgary simply outworked Detroit. It will be interesting to see which Calgary Flames team shows up on Thursday night for game 4 of the series.

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 16th

From the NHL Highlight Machine

New Jersey Devils (1) at Tampa Bay Lightning (2) Game 3:



Buffalo Sabres (3) at New York Islanders (1) Game 4:



Nashville Predators (1) at San Jose Sharks (2) Game 3:



You can see more video highlights and weekly specials on NHL.com.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 17th

3/3 on predictions last night, there must have been something in my coffee yesterday morning. As expected the Sabres took control of their series with 3 goals in the second period while San Jose pounded the Predators to take the lead at home in their series.

Tonights Games:

Atlanta Thrashers (0) at New York Rangers (2) : Atlanta coach Bob Hartley says that Kari Lehtonen will be back in goal for the Thrashers as they try to keep alive in their first playoff appearance. The problem for the Thrashers lies in the fact that top scorers Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov and Marian Hossa have managed only 1 point between them in the series so far. I expect the Rangers to take this game tonight and would not be surprised to see Lehtonen chased from between the pipes by the 3rd period.

Ottawa Senators (2) at Pittsburgh Penguins (1) : The Penguins have to be disappointed after letting the Sens regain momentum in game 3. I expect the Penguins to come out blazing tonight and specifically hope to see Evgeni Malkin pick up where he left off in game 3 by putting more shots on net (he took his first 4 shots on net in the series last game). Penguins even this series behind a stellar game from Fleury and some offensive production from Staal and Malkin.

Vancouver Canucks (2) at Dallas Stars (1) : The Dallas Stars are currently on a 5 game home playoff losing streak. That is a problem. The Stars looked to be on the way to ending that streak in game 3 but lost in OT. Look for Marty Turco to bounce back tonight with a strong effort between the pipes and the Stars to even this series up a 2-2 to head back to Vancouver for game 5.

Anaheim Ducks (3) at Minnesota Wild (0) : Wow, I really expected the Minnesota Wild to make this a more competitive series. The Wild are 1-15 on the power play and leading scorers Brian Rolston, Pavol Demitra and Marian Gaborik have been limited to 2 goals and 2 assists between them. That being said I expect hope that Minnesota will display some pride tonight and get at least 1 win in this series. Their last appearance in the post season saw them swept by the Mighty Ducks on 2003. Expect Ilya Bryzgalov in net again tonight for Anaheim.

Detroit Red Wings (2) at Calgary Flames (0) : Jarome Iginla has notched only 2 shots on goal during this series. If the Flames expect to win a game in this series they need this to change tonight. Miikka Kiprusoff has done everything he could to keep the Flames in this series by making 90 saves on 97 shots. In contrast Dominik Hasek has faced only 35 shots and allowed only 2 goals. Tough call but I'll pick the Wings to squeak one out tonight to go up 3-0 in the series.

Recaps Day 6:

New Jersey Devils 2 (1) at Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (2) : If I had told you that Martin Brodeur would post a GAA of 3.00 in this series and be outplayed by Johan Holmqvist you probably would have been asking me to share my pharmaceutical paraphernalia with you. However, that's exactly what has happened in this series so far. The Lightning seem to have realized that Martin Brodeur is going to make the first save almost everytime so they have been focusing on getting shots on him and crashing the net for garbage goals. That served them well last night as two rather fluky goals gave them the win at home and the lead in the series. Martin St. Louis managed 3 assists while Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards combined for a goal and an assist each.

Buffalo Sabres 3 (2) at New York Islanders (1) : The Sabres came out fired up in the second period and took a one goal lead into the third. The Sabres held the Islanders to just 1 shot in the third period (a 17-1 advantage) to hold onto the lead. Islanders captain Alexei Yashin was relegated to the 4th line and the power play in game 3. Apparently Ted Nolan has realized what everyone else has already, Yashin doesn't show up in April. Hell, even the Ottawa Senators were able to figure that out years ago.

Nashville Predators 1 (1) at San Jose Sharks 3 (2) : The Sharks outshot the Predators 41-20 in there game 3 matchup and completely overpowered the Preds to take the lead in the series. The Predators played stellar defense throughout the game, they kept the Sharks to 0-7 on the power play, but a brain fart by Paul Kariya may have cost them the game. As the Predators killed off the Sharks 5th penalty of the game Kariya left the penalty box and skated to the bench instead of joining the play in his own zone. Ryan Clowe made the Preds pay with the game winning goal at 12:18, 8 seconds after the penalty was over.

Past playoff posts:

Round 1 Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

Leafs and Canadiens get a second chance at the cup

David Martin of the Ottawa Citizen is reporting on a new NHL playoff format that sees the bottom 16 teams in the NHL playing for the Rabinovitch cup.

The second tier playoff series is the brainchild of the CBC which has named it the Rabinovitch Cup after their president Robert Rabinovitch.

The CBC is faced with a declining television audience with the absence of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers from the Stanley Cup playoffs this year. They are predicting a 30% loss in viewership over the length of the playoffs.

In a further brilliant move the Rabinovitch Cup sees the 9th seed teams in each conference go through to the second round automatically. This ensures that the Toronto Maple Leafs will make it to the second round and that at least one Canadian team will still be in the hunt for the new cup after the first series play themselves out.

Even Don Cherry was reported as being supportive of this new cup and says "This is great. I love it. At least my Leafs have a chance to win something for a change."

Toronto Maple Leafs fans are excited that they can finally be assured that the Leafs will make it past the first round... unless the team ends up being disqualified when they can't get enough players off the golf course to field a team when round 2 rolls around.

David Martin is an Ottawa humour writer and you can read his original article "One Cup the Leafs can win" here.

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 16th

50/50 last night. Calgary surprised me with a lackluster effort. Sidney Crosby and Daniel Alfredsson lead all playoff scorers with 3 goals and 2 assists with rookies Alexander Radulov and Evgeni Malkin close behind with 4 points each.

Tonights Games:

New Jersey Devils (1) at Tampa Bay Lightning (1) : The series shifts to Tampa and the Lightning have to be happy with a split in New Jersey. Look for the big guns in Tampa to go after Martin Brodeur tonight. Tight game but Tampa will pull it off to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Preview

Buffalo Sabres (1) at New York Islanders (1) : The Islanders were rejuvenated by the return of Rick DiPietro and the Sabres looked a little weak in game 2. Expect the Sabres to come out hot and put this game away early. Preview

Nashville Predators (1) at San Jose Sharks (1) : The Predators won game 2 handily but will be missing rookie spark plug Alexander Radulov for game 3 in San Jose. Expect the Sharks to take game 3 and a 2-1 lead in the series. Preview

Recaps Day 5:

Calgary Flames 1 (0) at Detroit Red Wings 3 (2) : The Flames put themselves in a hole early as Detroit scored two power play goals within the first 4 minutes. Pavel Datsyuk is continuing to prove that he can perform in the playoffs and Nicklas Lidstrom pots the game winner.

Ottawa Senators 4 (2) at Pittsburgh Penguins 2 (1) : The Senators were determined not to repeat their third period collapse from Saturday night and pulled together to bury the Penguins in game 3. Colby Armstrong knocked Patrick Eaves out of the game with a shoulder to the head behind the Pittsburgh net. Even more shocking may have been Ottawa's Chris Phillips dropping the gloves with Evgeni Malkin? No that is not a typo, it happened.

Anaheim Ducks 2 (3) at Minnesota Wild 1 (0) : The last time the Minnesota Wild were in the playoffs they were swept in 4 games by Anaheim. History looks like it is going to repeat itself as the Ducks take a commanding 3-0 series lead. Minnesota's power play has been absolutely non-existent as the scored their first PP tally last night in 15 chances. So long Minnesota, as of now I doubt that you will push this series to 5 games, let alone the 7 I predicted.

Vancouver Canucks 2 (2) at Dallas Stars 1 (1) : Marty Turco still has some demons to excorcise. Coming off his first playoff shutout Turco saw his chance at two in a row disintegrate in the third to be followed by an overtime loss 7:47 into the first overtime period. Turco is now 1-9 in postseason over time games and has lost 5 straight home games in the playoffs. As easy as it would be to blame this loss on Turco the problem is likely up front for Dallas. Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen were the teams leading scorers in the regular season but have yet to tally a point in the postseason.

Past playoff posts:

Round 1 Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 15th

Once again my predictive powers are over powered by reality. Rick DiPietro returns for the Islanders and that carries them over top of the Sabres and the Thrashers start backup Johan Hedberg and get a win to even up that series.

Tonights Games:

Calgary Flames (0) at Detroit Red Wings (1) : 1:00 PM EST
I expect the Flames and Jarome Iginla to step up tonight and at the very least make it close. Look for a Flames win. Preview

Ottawa Senators (1) at Pittsburgh Penguins (1) : 6:00 PM EST
The Senators have to be upset about last night, expect them to come out fired up and thake game 3 of this series. Look for Heatley and Spezza to have good games. Preview

Anaheim Ducks (2) at Minnesota Wild (0) : 8:00 PM EST
Minnesota has got to be upset about the way their power play has performed over the first 2 games. A measly 0-10 they have also given up 1 shorthanded goal. Expect the faster ice in Minnesota the spur things along as Minnesota take their first game at home. Preview

Vancouver Canucks (1) at Dallas Stars (1) :9:30 PM EST
When I thought Turco was his usual playoff self this series was easier to predict. Now that Turco has broken through with a shutout it makes things a little dicier. I still think that Luongo will come back strong and that Turco will be merely normal. Vancouver takes it tonight on the road. Preview

Recaps Day 4:

New York Rangers 2 (2) at Atlanta Thrashers 1 (0) : The Thrashers decided to go with backup Johan Hedberg last night in the hopes that he could spark the team to victory. The good news is that Hedberg didn't let in any cheesy goals... well, except for the game winner that bounced off of the glass and into the net on a dump in.

Pittsburgh Penguins 4 (1) at Ottawa Senators 3 (1) : Pittsburgh comes out swinging in game 2 of the series and manages to take one at Ottawa. Crosby performs again and Gary Roberts chips in to help Pittsburgh over the Senators.

Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (1) at New Jersey Devils 2 (1) : Vinny Lecavalier scores the game winner and Johan Homqvist outplays Martin Brodeur to even up the series.

New York Islanders 3 (1) at Buffalo Sabres 2 (1) : The Islanders get Rick DiPietro back and that picks up there game enough to give them a split in Buffalo. Buffalo's vaunted offence barely shows up as their D scores both of Buffalo's goals in game 2.