The Pittsburgh Penguins did, indeed, outclass the Philadelphia Flyers. They outclassed them both in outcome of the game and how they played the game.  This game did live up to the hype.  It was played by two teams that seem to really dislike each other.  There was a lot of hitting. Many of those hits were of the bone-jarring variety.  There was a good bit of action, big saves, bad turnovers, shots off posts and lots of penalties.
The Pens apparently picked up where they left off in the conference finals …

This is all you need to know about the upcoming Boston Bruins-Montreal Canadiens first-round playoff series that starts Thursday night at TD Banknorth Garden.
When the Bruins needed to match up against the Habs’ top line during last spring seven-game Montreal triumph, head coach Claude Julien had to ask his top offensive performer Marc Savard, a rookie Milan Lucic and a second-year player who he scratched three times as a wake-up call, Phil Kessel, to get the job done against the Andrei Kostitsyn-Tomas Plekanec-Alex Kovalev.
This time around, Savard can be spared …

Recent history proves, it takes two goaltenders to win the Stanley Cup.
Over the course of four best-of-seven series, something is bound to happen to the most vulnerable, most shot-at player on the ice. It’s well-documented that Carolina wouldn’t have won the ‘06 Cup without Cam Ward coming off the bench with a Conn Smythe-capturing performance in relief of Martin Gerber. And Anaheim and Detroit both used both their netminders as well to take home the game’s ultimate hardware.
During the majority of the 2008-09 season the Boston Bruins, who open their …

Starting tonight there are 16 men who probably have a little more of the focus, a little more of the spotlight, on their masked faces. Those guys are the goaltenders. Here in Boston, they’re wondering if Tim Thomas can win a playoff series. In Montreal, they’re wondering if Carey Price was overhyped of if he’s going to use this postseason to live up to the prognostications for his greatness.
Well, in Phiadelphia all eyes are on Martin Biron. He led the Flyers to the Eastern Conference finals last spring. After an …

The Boston Bruins have fond memories of Montreal goaltender Carey Price, a rookie at the time, fighting the puck through the better part of last spring’s Stanley Cup playoffs first-round series. They’d love to see more of that this season in their match-up with the Habs that starts Thursday night.
“I think the one thing I’ve learned is not to put too much pressure on myself,” Price was quoted today in Pat Hickey’s piece for the Montreal Gazette. “It’s been a long year. Eighty-two games is a long time, but once …

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
1) Bruins vs. 6) Hurricanes
If the ‘Canes can get past the Devils, it means Cam Ward would be playing lights out at this point. Boston would be coming off a rough series against the hated Habs. This series would be awesome! Carolina really can make it to the conference final… they’re that good. Meanwhile, the B’s have the Cup on their minds, with a defense that is in a class of its own. In the end, I think the Bruins would prevail in a very entertaining matchup.
Prediction: Bruins …

A preview of the first round series between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

A preview of the first round series between New Jersey and Carolina.

A Preview of the first round series between Washington and New York.

A Preview of the first round series between Boston and Montreal.

An analysis of possible playoff match-ups in the East. Who would and wouldn’t want to play each other…