Defending Big D: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
New Blog: Voodoo Five for South Florida Bulls Fans!

Stanley Cup Playoffs Friday Night Recap

What another great night in the Stanley Cup playoffs! 

Star-divide

Going into Friday nights game between thte Penguins and Flyers, I had a feeling that as soon as I put on my Marc-Andre Fleury jersey, I was somehow going to curse the team. It happened the other night when I wore my Rick Nash jersey, although I think the Detroit Red Wings had more to do with that than me, but I digress.

The Flyers came into this game playing hard from the start.  Not they way they played in game one.  Their coach John Stevens told them that they needed to come out and play smart hockey and avoid dumb penalties.  It worked for most of the game but when Claude Giroux took a slashing call to put Pittsburgh on a two man advantage, I knew the was just about over.  Sure enough, Bill Guerin scored his only OT game winning goal in his seventeen year so far.  This was also only the second time EVER, according to the Elias Sports Bureau that a game ended on a two man advantage.

 

Carolina played game two the way I expect them to play the rest of the series.  Lots of energy, controlling the play and winning all the little battles along the boards.  When they do this, they are going to get the fortunate bounces they got on Friday night, inlcuding the one that ended the game just a couple minutes into OT.

It was great night for Canes' defenseman Tim Gleason as he scored his first goal of the playoffs, which also happened to be his first goal of the season,  He couldn't have picked a better time to score it either.  His goal at 2:40 of the first overtime deflected off Devils' player Niclas Havelid's skate and past Marty Brodeur in a night where the Hurricanes' were not going to be denied.

 

For the Vancouver Canucks, all Roberto Luongo had to do was, well just be himself.  And that is exactly what he did as he stopped all 30 shots St. Louis threw at him on Friday to post his first playoff shutout.  The Canucks now have a 2-0 series lead over the Blues.

Many of Luongo's saves last night were of the highlight variety.  I sat in awe as the game unfolded and he just kept stopping the puck.  Each save almost more brilliant than the one before.  I thought, "How the #$%^ did he stop that?!" on more than a couple of occasions, but he did.  And that is why I feel that if the Canucks go anywhere in the playoffs, it is going to be on the back of Roberto Luongo.

0 recs  |  Comment 0 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Welcome to SB Nation's Dallas Stars website. We talk Stars hockey 24/7/365. You're welcome to join in the discussion; please follow the code of conduct for commentary.
Start posting about the Stars »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Small
Video highlights from the Stars-Sharks game, 16 March

Recent FanPosts

Osuhockey5_small
Kari Lehtonen extension
Profile_pic_small
Brandon Segal: The Value of a Right-Handed Shot
Small
Ovie....
0027_small
Maybe Time To Experiment With Trevor Daley At Forward?
Small
Cap Room
Small
Crawford
Batman_small
The mythical number one on the block
Vegeta_2_small
Missing Our Finns
Small
Hockey is still a team game: A look at the Dallas Stars' Offense

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

SBNation.com Recent Stories

Photo link

An Interview With Sharks Prospect Jamie McGinn

Denver left winger Rhett Rakhshani (9) and Colorado College defenseman Nate Prosser (15) chase the puck into the corner during an NCAA college hockey game in Denver, Friday, March 5, 2010.

2010 Hobey Baker Award Finalists Announced

New Jersey Devils' Patrik Elias, of the Czech Republic, comes out with a green hat on St. Patrick's Day after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 17, 2010, in Newark, N.J. Elias was voted the star of the game. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Devils Complete Regular-Season Sweep Of Penguins With 5-2 Win

More from SBNation.com >


Managing Editor

Sb_avatar_small Brad Gardner

Staff Writers

Twitterme_small Brandon Bibb

Photo_10_small Derek B

Irbe_hockey_card_small Art_M

20266_239076958435_675463435_4277662_4878279_n_small Pat Iversen

Don_small Mike Russo

AHL Correspondent

Gtalk_profile_small scm83x

Graphic Design Artist

Avatar_small RyanM