The Montreal Canadiens foolishly carried a two goal lead into the third period of their Game 1 matchup against the Boston Bruins last night. We Stars fans know what a bad idea that is, and sure enough, first former-Dallas Star Reilly Smith scored, then former-Dungeon Siege villain Torey Krug scored, and suddenly the game got a lot more interesting.
Now, despite blowing that lead, and then losing a one-goal lead in the final two minutes of regulation as well, the Canadiens did at least manage to pull off the victory in double overtime, thanks to this bomb from the blueline by P.K. Subban.
That hasn’t always been the case in this year’s playoffs though. There was the Dallas Stars Game 6 meltdown, when a safe two-goal lead suddenly wasn’t. And in the Penguins–Blue Jackets series, the first four games were won by scores of 4-3, with the losing team having led 3-1 in each of them! And then the Colorado Avalanche took the lead four separate times in their Game 7 against the Minnesota Wild, only to lose the game, having not trailed for a single second.
In short, beware of leads. They sound like a great idea, but it’s like trying to control Asia in Risk. Seven extra men, at the beginning of every turn, but you can never [frolicking] hold it. You think you’ve finally got it secured, and then an opponent captures Kamchatka. So you kick them out next round, only to have somebody else come in over the Urals. Australasia’s the one to go for. All the purples. Get everyone on Papua New Guinea and just build up, build up.
I don’t know where I was going with that, but the Montreal Canadiens are going to take over the world.
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A couple more second round series begin tonight. The Rangers and Penguins, and the Wild and Blackhawks.
Mike Heika talks current Stars, and potential future Stars. [Sports Day DFW]
Lamenting the lack of a Game 7 for the Stars this week, and celebrating what they did accomplish this season. [On the Radar]
If you haven’t already, check out Tuba’s post and start submitting/voting on all the greatness that is the DBD community. Yes, I’m linking to our own website. Down the rabbit hole we go… [Defending Big D]
The Allen Americans have advanced to the CHL Finals with a win over Quad City. I’m kind of sad though that a team with a name as great as the ‘Quad City Mallards’ should ever be eliminated. [Sports Day DFW]
So Defending Big D weren’t the only ones to predict the second round yesterday. Obscene Alex and J.R. Lind have their predictions up as well. Predictions aside, Alex paints a beyond beautiful picture of how the Kings–Ducks series should unfold… [III Communication]
Puck Daddy predicts the second round, but alas, in all of their predictions, Corey Perry and Dustin Brown both survive. [Puck Daddy]
John Tortorella, former-Head Coach of the Vancouver Canucks. [Pass It To Bulis]
I’ve been enjoying the roasts of teams eliminated from the playoffs over at Puck Daddy the last week. This one though, of the Columbus Blue Jackets, may just be my favorite yet. [Puck Daddy]
Down Goes Brown with a guide to choosing who to cheer for in the second round, now that the Stars are out. You’re not gonna like his number one pick though… [Grantland]
And lastly, Playoff Hockey Hugs! [Puck Daddy]