Wrap Around

First Round Playoffs "Wrap Around"

Eastern Conference

1. Pittsburgh Penguins

8. New York Islanders

Pens win in 6

This series was a lot closer than many thought. Brooks Orpik's Game 6 overtime shot from the point eliminated the New York Islanders. New York came to play and gave the Pens all they could handle but eventually fell short in six games. Pittsburgh is the favorite to come out of the East and they looked great, except for their goal tending. Thomas Vokoun got the starts in Games 5 and 6 over a struggling Marc-Andre Fleury. If the Pens can get their goal tending situation straight, they will be an even tougher team to knock out in these playoffs.

Goal Leaders:

Pittsburgh –Pascal Dupuis – 5

Pittsburgh – Sidney Crosby – 3

New York – John Tavares – 3 – 1 game winner

New York – Kyle Okposo – 3 – 1 game winner

Assist Leaders:

Pittsburgh – Evegeni Malkin – 9

Pittsburgh – Jarome Iginla – 7

Pittsburgh – Sidney Crosby – 6

New York – Michael Grabner – 3

New York – Mark Streit - 3

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2. Montreal Canadiens

7. Ottawa Senators

Sens win in 5

One year removed from finishing dead last in the Eastern Conference, the Montreal Canadiens had an impressive regular season and finished with the second seed. Unfortunately for the Habs, that success did not carry over into the post-season. These two rivals filled the series with animosity and trash talk. Ottawa took care of Montreal easily though, defeating them in 5 games.

Goal Leaders:

Ottawa – Kyle Turris – 3 – 1 game winner

Ottawa – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – 3 – 1 game winner

Ottawa – Cory Conacher – 3 – 1 game winner

Montreal – P.K. Subban - 2

Assist Leaders:

Ottawa – Erik Karlsson – 5

Montreal – Tomas Plekanec - 4

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3. Washington Capitals

6. New York Rangers

Rangers win in 7

This series was back and forth throughout with each home team winning their games until Game 7. Stellar goal tending from Henrik Lundqvist throughout the series, especially in Games 6 & 7 is one of the main reasons why the Rangers advanced. After allowing an overtime goal in Game 5, Lundqvist came out on fire in Game 6. He turned away 27 shots as the Rangers won 1 – 0. In Game 7 he was even better, stopping 35 shots and again posting a shutout in a 5 – 0 Rangers win. Lundqvist has not been beaten in six consecutive periods. The Rangers are a team that is balanced offensively and if Rick Nash and Brad Richards can begin to produce, with Lundqvist turning away pucks, they will be almost unbeatable in a seven games series.

Goal Leaders:

Washington – Mike Green – 2 – 1 game winner

New York - Derek Stepan – 2 – 2 game winners

New York – Derick Brassard – 2 – 1 game winner

New York - Arron Asham – 2 – 1 game winner

Assist Leaders:

New York – Derick Brassard – 7

New York – Mats Zuccarello – 4

Washington – Mathieu Perreault – 3

Washington – Joel Ward - 3

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4. Boston Bruins

5. Toronto Maple Leafs

Bruins win in 7

Wow. What a series. What a Game 7. The Bruins were strong early in the series and went up 3 – 1 on the Leafs with a chance to close them out on home ice in Game 5. Toronto battled hard and pulled out a 2 – 1 victory to force Game 6 back in Canada. In Game 6, Leafs goalie James Reimer stole the show! Stopping 29 out of 30 shots, Reimer made sure that this series would go 7.

Game 7 (This game was so crazy it deserves its own paragraph)

This game was one of the craziest Game 7's in NHL history. The first two periods were pretty even on both sides and the second ended with a 2 – 1 lead for the Leafs. When the third began, no one had any idea what was in store. Phil Kessel tapped in a Nazem Kadri shot that hit the post to extend the Leafs lead to 3 – 1. Three minutes later, Kadri scored one of his own and the Leafs were sitting pretty, up three with under 15 minutes to go. With about 11 minutes to go in the game, Nathan Horton put one past Reimer to cut the lead to 4 – 2. The game stayed that way until 1:22 in the third, when a scramble out in front left Milan Lucic on the receiving end of his second goal of the playoffs. The Bruins then called a time-out to gather their thoughts. On the ensuing face-off, Boston (who dominated face-offs all series) won the puck and gained the Toronto zone. With the net pulled, the Bruins cycled the puck. David Krejci slide the puck to Patrice Bergeron on the point. He hesitated just a little and then fired a laser past Reimer's blocker side. Two goals, 31 seconds apart, both under 1:30 in the third period of GAME 7. Crazy! The score would stand 4 – 4 when the regulation horn sounded. With momentum now on their side, and the Bruins faithful cheering them on, Boston started the overtime period high on confidence. Six minutes and five seconds into the extra frame, Patrice Bergeron scored his second of the game and sent the Boston Bruins to the Semi-Finals.

The Boston Bruins became the first team in NHL history to win a Game 7 down by three goals in the third.

Goal Leaders:

Boston – David Krejci – 5 – 1 game winner

Toronto – Phil Kessel – 4 – 2 game winners

Boston – Nathan Horton – 4 – 2 game winners

Toronto – Cody Franson - 3

Toronto – Joffrey Lupul - 3

Assist Leaders:

Boston - David Krejci – 8

Boston - Milan Lucic – 7

Boston - Zdeno Chara - 7

Toronto – James van Riemsdyk – 5

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Western Conference

1. Chicago Blackhawks

8. Minnesota Wild

Blackhawks win in 5

As expected the Blackhawks took care of business against the Wild in five games. Chicago scored a total of 17 goals in the series, while Minnesota only mustered up 7. Pat Sharp knotted five goals, two of which were game winners. Pat Kane assisted on five goals and continues to impress with his skills offensively. Corey Crawford was strong in goal posting a 1.32 GAA and a .950% save percentage. The 'Hawks look like a force to be wrecking with in the West.

Goal Leaders:

Chicago – Patrick Sharp – 5 – 2 game winning goals

Chicago - Marian Hossa – 3

Chicago - Bryan Bickell – 3 – 1 game winner

Assists Leaders:

Chicago – Pat Kane - 5

Chicago – Duncan Keith – 4

Minnesota – Matt Cullen – 3

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2. Anaheim Ducks

7. Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings win in 7

These two teams traded wins until Game 7 when Detroit finally grasped the series. An even series throughout, four of the seven games saw overtime. In the extra frame, Detroit won three out of the four. Either team could have advanced but Detroit proved to be stronger. This very well could be the Red Wings last chance with their aging team to capture another Stanley Cup. With a veteran presence of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen,Valterri Filppula, mixed together with young guys like, Damien Brunner, Justin Abdelkader, Gustav Nyquist, and a proven net-minder in Jimmy Howard, Detroit could be a team to make a run to the Cup.

Let's all hope that this was not Teemu Selanne's last playoff series, but at 42 years old, it very well might have been. I personally would love to see him play live one more time though.

Goal Leaders:

Anaheim – Ryan Getzlaf – 3

Anaheim – Emerson Etem – 3

Detroit – Henrik Zetterberg – 3 – 1 game winner

Detroit – Johan Franzen – 3

Assist Leaders:

Detroit – Henrik Zetterberg – 5

Detroit – Pavel Datsyuk - 5

Anaheim – Francois Beauchemin – 4

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3. Vancouver Canucks

6. San Jose Sharks

Sharks win in 4

San Jose took care of Vancouver quickly, almost too quickly. It only took the minimum amount of games for the Sharks to “bite” the Canucks out of the 2013 NHL Playoffs. The major story of this series was the goal tending carousel in Vancouver's net. Roberto Luongo started Games 1 and 2 for the “Nucks while posting 55 saves and given up 6 goals. As the series changed venues to San Jose, the Canucks decided to make a switch behind the pipes. Cory Schneider started Game 3 and got lit up, letting in five. Schneider stopped 23 shots on a total of 28. In the final game of the series, Schneider got the start again and played better, stopping 43 shots on a total of 47. The Sharks would win 4-3 in overtime to advance to the Semi-Finals.

Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau of San Jose both scored four goals, while Logan Couture and Joe Thronton had five assists a piece.

Goal Leaders:

San Jose – Joe Pavelski – 4

San Jose – Patrick Marleau – 4 – 1 game winner

San Jose – Logan Couture – 3

Vancouver – Alexandre Burrows – 2

Vancouver – Ryan Kesler – 2

Assists Leaders:

San Jose – Logan Couture – 5

San Jose – Joe Thornton – 5

San Jose – Joe Pavelski – 4

Vancouver – Henrik Sedin – 3

Vancouver – Daniel Sedin – 3

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4. St. Louis Blues

5. Los Angels Kings

Kings win in 6

After going down 2-0 in the series, the Kings returned to LA with a vengeance. They ripped off four straight wins to eliminate St. Louis. LA is built for the playoffs with three solid centers in Anze Kopitar, Mike Richards, and Jared Stoll. In addition, their back end with puck moving defensemen Drew Doughty, Slava Voynov and Rob Scuderi is impressive. Jeff Carter leads the team in goals with three while Mike Richards leads the team in assists with five. This team look like it can make a real push at the Stanley Cup.

Goal Leaders:

Los Angeles – Jeff Carter – 3

St. Louis – Alexander Steen - 3

Assist Leaders:

Los Angeles – Mike Richards – 5

St. Louis – Vladimir Sobotka - 3

*All stats courtesy of NHL.com*