Ponds and Pucks

So I came into the Conference Semis at 3-3-2.  How did I leave?  My picks are here, and let’s look at how I did.
Sabres/Rangers (Sabres in 6) — Right
Devils/Senators (Senators in 7) — Right team, wrong # of games
Red Wings/Sharks (Red Wings in 5) — Right team, wrong # of games
Ducks/Canucks[/tag] (Anaheim in 6) — Right team, wrong # of games
I walk out 4-3-5.  Not dreadful.

Detroit beat San Jose last night 2-0 to win their series in 6.  The big lesson that kids can take from it is in watching Dominik Hasek.  Except for one play, he knew where the puck was at all times and made sure to keep his body between the puck and the goal.  He flailed about like a beached whale at times and was far from pretty, but he shut the Sharks out.  We’d all rather an ugly win than a pretty loss.

Three stars of the second round:

1. Dany Heatley (Ott)
2. Dominik Hasek (Det)
3. Ryan Miller (Buf)

News Update
NHL & IIHF Agree on New Transfer Deal
Sidney Crosby voted top sports figure in Time.com Survey
Pharmacist makes bid for Edmonton Oilers

Trophy Update
Norris Trophy (Outstanding Defenseman)
The Finalists:

1. Nicklas Lidstrom (Det)
2. Scott Niedermayer (Ana)
3. Chris Pronger (Ana)

Three superb players got the nod here, and this may very well be the toughest category to decide on a winner for.  In their playoff series, all three have shown why they were nominated on a national stage.  And all three made amazing cases for themselves.
Who Should Win:  I think all three are deserving.  I will say that Lidstrom should win but it’s a real tossup.
Who Will Win: Lidstrom.  Niedermayer and Pronger will split the vote and eliminate each other.

Coming Attractions
This Friday, I will be starting a new feature, the weekly blog update.  Looking at hockey blogs across the web, I will give links to the top posts/stories of the week.
Conference Finals to be broken down tomorrow and Thursday.

Sabres, Rangers, Devils, Senators, Red Wings, Sharks, Ducks, Detroit, San Jose

I will start by giving credit where credit is due.  Versus did a great job this weekend, showing so many games.  Call it bonus coverage all you want, I think they deserve a pat on the back.  I hope they continue the trend.

There is only one game on tonight, and it’s game 7.  Vancouver will skate at home against Dallas for all the marbles.  Puck drops at 9 ET.  This is the final game of the first round and we go to the next round, which I will break down tomorrow.

This weekend we saw New Jersey, San Jose, Detroit and Buffalo move on to the second round.  New Jersey put Tampa Bay away for the season which was not unexpected and San Jose was dominant in their series.  Neither series generated much news.  However, The Isles and the Flames went out with news clips:

• The Isles had a defenseman suspended under the league’s drug policy.
  Now, I don’t think that the loss of Sean Hill led to the defeat of the Isles in the series — the reality is that they were just completely outplayed.  But how stupid do you have to be to do anything that jeopardizes your team during the playoffs?  Hill had a 1 year contract, so he is now a free agent.  We won’t see him back in Isles Blue.
• The Flames Goalie got the gate
  We’ll start with See Above and move on from there.  Now granted, it’s Jamie McLennan who is the backup goalie, but you still need to make sure that you aren’t doing anything stupid.  The game got out of control, and everyone go frustrated.  I get that, it happens.  The game was lost 5-1.  But in the playoffs you need to play smarter.  It’s the playoffs.  It’s a disappointment.

Technorati Tags: Sean Hill, Jamie McLennan, NHL, Stanley Cup, Hockey, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Detroit Red Wings

Welcome to Ponds & Pucks — 451 Press’ new blog for all things hockey.  This is an exciting time to start off, since the playoffs are just a few days away.

And that said, the New Jersey Devils have made sure that they will keep themselves on the back page.  They will be over 100 points for the season, but that hasn’t stopped them from firing their head coach.  Why?  “Hockey reasons.”  Yeah, right.  But I’m not going to make a big stink about it.  Want to know why?  Two words.  Martin Brodeur.  Is there a better goalie in the NHL?  For my money, no.  He has been too consistent, has kept the Devils in the top of the league, and even when they don’t take the cup, they are still the at the top of the list.  But I’ll open this up and invite people to offer their own opinions.  Who is the best goalie, either now or in the past?