The last day of April brought us the last day of the first round.
Fittingly, three series ended with Game 7. And thus on Wednesday there were three series-deciding games that illustrated just how tough and pitiless such things can be.
First up, Philadelphia vs. NY Rangers.
I believe I wrote here a few days ago hoping for Daniel Carcillo to have a series-ending goal in Philly. Well, he did score in Game 7, but it was the first goal and not the last. Still, a nice touch for a guy who isn't known as a scorer.
Mason and Lundqvist were both pretty spectacular in this one. I don't fault either of them; the Rangers were just slightly better on Wednesday.
As to the next series: I'm not sure how it'll go, really. The Rangers showed their usual lack of consistency against the Flyers. If the same thing rears its head against the Penguins, and there's no reason to believe it won't, I think it could end sooner. Meaning that the series won't go seven.
NY Rangers win the series 4-3. They advance to the second round to play the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Next, Minnesota vs. Colorado.
Not exactly tragic, per se. But certainly a difficult one to accept.
The Avalanche went down in OT, 5-4. Varlamov and Kuemper had a nice little duel going, except they were giving up goals. But then Kuemper went out with an injury and Colorado couldn't take advantage.
I think it would have been better for the league and the playoffs as a whole if Colorado had advanced. It's not that Minnesota is a bad team, per se. Colorado is simply much more exciting to watch.
That said, Nino Niederreiter was beastly. And the Wild have other top scorers, plus Ryan Suter on the blue line. It's not like they're lacking in "star power". They're just not quite as exciting as Colorado's top line of MacKinnon, Landeskog, and Stastny.
Minnesota wins the series 4-3. They advance to the second round to play the Chicago Blackhawks.
Finally, Los Angeles vs. San Jose.
I had a bad feeling about this series once the Kings won Game 6. I thought that Quick would be exceptional and that Niemi wouldn't be able to match him.
What do you know, I was right on both accounts.
The Kings inflated their total with empty net goals, but still. They were the better team from Games 4-7. And despite how Quick started (which was mind-numbingly terrible), he finished about as strong as anyone else not named Tuukka Rask. Hell, he might have outshone Rask simply because he was part of history and because the Sharks reached new levels of futility trying to score on him.
As for the Sharks, well, it's naught but humiliation and disappointment. But this is the bed they made for themselves, and now they have to lie in it.
I'm disappointed that they won't be moving on. I'd certainly rather see them than the Kings.
That said, I'm not sure either of these teams would have a "good" chance against Anaheim.
Los Angeles wins the series 4-3. They advance to the second round to play the Anaheim Ducks.
Later today, the second round begins! Montreal heads to Boston, first to kick off the rust, and second to play a hockey game. It should be exciting.
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