NHL Playoff Moments 2011.V2-4.20

Another great night of NHL action last evening.
Here are video recaps of some of my favorite moments:

1) "Can you hear us?"
This one gave me goosebumps. The reason the hockey playoffs are such an epic event is because that Hockey fans are so tuned in with their teams and following so closely that it is like they are in the room with their team and along for the ride. Every win entices fans with visions of Lord Stanley’s Holy Chalice, any loss and it feels like your team will not be able to get up off the mat and never win a game again. Washington’s Coach Bruce Boudreau had taken a potshot at the Ranger fans, saying that he did not consider their home rink, Madison Square Garden, to be all that loud of a building. It was a ridiculous thing to say, but not surprising to anyone who watched Boudreau act like a total clown throughout the entire HBO 24/7 TV series. The Ranger’s fans response was just pure hockey fandom music to my ears.

2) Perry Eats Preds Souls Shorthanded:
The Anaheim Ducks tendency to play undisciplined and take untimely penalties is the key reason why the Nashville Predators were up on them two games to one. In a tie game last night the Ducks once again went down a man at a bad moment. It looked like Nashville could once again capitalize, but Corry Perry had other ideas and turned the tables on the Preds while his team was down a man. This is the kind of individual play that can really shift the momentum in a playoff round. Just awesome.

3) Marty and Vinny Hook Up:
The Tampa Bay Lightning are down 3 games to 1 in their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it is certainly not from lack of effort from the smallest and most skilled player between the two teams, Martin St. Louis. After the Bolts were shutout in game one, Marty has 4 goals in 4 games and has almost single handedly kept Tampa close in this series. Don’t overlook the nice setup from his teammate Vincent Lecavalier with a tricky bank pass off the boards. The connection these two have may not be enough to get past the Pens, but it is still something special to watch.

4) Miller stones Briere, Flyers:
Last year in the Olympics Ryan Miller was the Great American Hero as a Goalie leading the underdog Americans to the brink of the Gold Medal. This year he has resumed his more unassuming role as Superman for the city of Buffalo. He was beyond spectacular in evening things with the Philadelphia Flyers at home last night with his 2nd 1-0 shutout victory of the series. He robs Daniel Briere here for one of about 3 or 4 stops that could have been shown here from the 3rd Period of that game. This save was the most impressive to me however for the mano-a-mano aspect of it.

5) Neal Finally Puts One In:
James Neal is one of those hockey forwards going through a stretch where he is snakebit. He does everything right but just can’t seem to finish the play by finding the back of the net. He finally got one to fall last night in the 2nd overtime, and there was much rejoicing.

6) Chimera Flips it Home to Close Things Out:

Alas for Ranger fans, the magic night at MSG did not have a happy ending for them. While Henrik Lundqvist and Marian Gaborik played a game of “You got it, I’ll take it” in the crease, Jason Chimera cooley swept in and banked it home for the OT winner and put the Blueshirts on the brink of elimination heading back to Washington.

7) Shane Doan Shakes Lidstrom's Hand:
Shane Doan has only played for one franchise in his entire career. He played his rookie year as a Winnipeg Jet. The next season that team packed up and moved South of the Border to Phoenix and was re-branded the Coyotes. Now the future of the team in Phoenix is in serious doubt. The Dessert Dogs have never been the most popular of tickets in the Valley of the Sun, but I do feel for the diehards who have been drawn in over the past decade and now look to have their team pulled out from under them, just as they are starting to gain some traction as a legitimate contender. I know a lot of hockey fans are pumped up to see the possibility of another team moving to back to the Great White North. I however hate to see any team relocate. It is not the fault of the dedicated fans that their fickle ‘casual’ counterparts are not coming out to support a team. They are there every game, watching road games on TV, buying jerseys, and doing all they can to support their club. It is much harder to be a fan in a market where hockey is not the most popular thing to follow, so I’d like to take this time to salute all Coyote fans, regardless of how this turns out who have been there through thick and, far too often, thin times. You did not fail hockey, hockey has failed you.