May 02, 2010

Cristobal Huet made his postseason debut last night as he stepped in for Antti Niemi in the third period. Niemi had allowed five goals on 25 shots. Huet faced the big three shots in that period. He stopped them all. I think they will come back with Niemi, but he will be on a shorter leash.

 

The Hawks did a fairly good job of shutting the Sedins down, though they did manage a point. The rest of the Canuck lines stepped in, however. That was something that they didn’t have the last few years – secondary scoring.

 

Michael Grabner was back in the lineup and scored in limited action (nine minutes). He played with Rypien and Hansen on the fourth line.

 

Dave Bolland, along with Ladd and Versteeg, was in charge of shutting down the twins. He also added an assist on Chicago’s power-play goal.

 

Since it’s new opposition, the Blackhawks should reunite Troy Brouwer with Kane and Toews.

 

Happy to see that Marc Savard not only got through his first game without getting Lindrossed, but he also scored the winning goal. I find myself cringing for him every time he steps on the ice. I get that way when a player rushes back from a head injury.

 

Savard played with Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler. David Krejci centered Satan and Lucic; Bergeron had Paille and Recchi on his wings.

 

Boston had zero players get 53 points this year, yet they have five players who are scoring at above that pace in the postseason – Bergeron, Satan, Wideman, Krejci, Recchi.

 

Still looking for his first point of the postseason – Marco Sturm.

 

Max Talbot stands to benefit the most from Jordan Staal’s absence. Talbot has a history of coming up big in the postseason, too.

 

Both the Gazette and TSN are reporting that the Pens are backtracking a little on Staal’s original outlook. It was not his Achilles tendon that was severed, but rather a tendon on the top of the foot.  Everyone is now reporting that Staal could be back for the third round. That seems a stretch, but it’s still promising news.

 

Andrei Markov is back in Montreal for more tests and will miss Game 2.

 

Sure, it’s the ECHL, but Dallas prospect goaltender Richard Bachman is 6-0 in the playoffs, 1.50 and 0.950. He is a favorite of mine for the backup role in Dallas next season. Which means he’ll be the starter right after Kari Lehtonen suffers a groin or back injury, which is scheduled for some time around Game 11.

 

BOS/PHI highlights, including Marc Savard’s OT goal: