BY JASON MENKVELD – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
With the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs completed, I’d like to take a look back at some of the more surprising outcomes. There were certainly a lot of nasty surprises which included injuries to goaltenders, controversial hits, and media scrums between coaches. I believe my favorite first round series was the Montreal Canadians vs. the Ottawa Senators. This series was filled with big hits, great goals, and top class goaltending.
The players that stood out most for me for Montreal were Carey Price and P.K. Subban. Price did his very best to keep his team in it, while Subban took on many roles in this series. He was the goal scorer, the agitator, and the leader due to the absence of Brian Gionta.
Players that stood out for me for Ottawa were Craig Anderson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Anderson really stole the show in this series. If you disagree, you just need to go to the highlight reels of each game. All I can say is, I’m sure the Colorado Avalanche organization is regretting getting rid of him. As for Pageau? He scored a hat trick in his first ever playoffs. In the end, I believe it was injuries that caused the Montreal Canadians to lose the series. Now Ottawa is through and a rivalry was born. It was a perfect outcome for playoff hockey.
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A series in the Western Conference that I enjoyed was the L.A. Kings vs. the St. Louis Blues. The recurring theme in this series was the physical play of both teams. In fact, I believe this series should be noted as the most physical series of all so far. The Blues players sure weren’t intimidated by last year’s champions at all. I’ve never seen guys like Drew Doughty have to take so many hits. However, last year’s champions showed their resolve, battled back, and eventually won the series.
I really don’t know what happened to the Blues, except to say that they ran out of gas. The same can be said for the Vancouver Canucks. Actually, they never really got going, except to skate to the penalty box. Stupid penalties are what allowed the Sharks to devour the Canucks in four games.
Fans of six teams also had to endure Game 7 thrillers in round one this year. The teams involved were the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and Anaheim Ducks.
The Rangers won their series for two reasons. Alex Ovechkin started hitting instead of scoring, and Braden Holtby was bombarded with too many screen shots. The Red Wings won their series based on experience and top class goaltending. The old guard of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and Daniel Cleary were able to lift their team to victory when required by scoring vital goals. And lastly the Boston Bruins won their series based on experience, determination, and grit. On the other hand, it was Toronto’s lack of experience that hurt the team most.
That was probably one of the most frustrating series I’ve ever watched. I couldn’t even bare to watch the overtime period. I was too shocked, and I’m not even a Leafs fan. All I’ll say now is the loss wasn’t because of goaltending errors, that’s for sure.
These are the series I enjoyed most throughout round one. With round two already started, I can’t wait to see which team will step up and make a statement. I believe this year’s winner will be determined based on their goaltender being able to make the big saves when required.