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Top 5: First Round Stories
Blog — By Rosey on April 30, 2012 1:16 PMWell the first round of the NHL Playoffs has come to an end, and quite the first round it was. From the LA Kings upset to the battle of Pennsylvania, this first round was one for the ages. I now present to you the top 5 stories from the first round, and there was plenty to choose from.
5. No Suspension, Sorry What?!- In the dying moments of Game 1 between the Detroit Red Wings and the Nashville Predators, Nashville captain Shea Weber proceeded to grab the head of Red Wing star Henrik Zetterberg and slam it into the glass. When sheriff Shanahan failed to hand down a suspension to Weber, and fined him a measly $2500, he continued to prove to the league that if you are a superstar player, you can get away with almost anything. Shanahan claims that since Z wasn’t injured, no suspension was necessary. If the NHL is going to crack down on head shots based on injuries and not on intent, then they are headed in the wrong direction. Here is the video of the incident in case anyone missed it.
4. See ya Raffi- Shanny certainly had his work cut out for him in the first round. His biggest suspension (so far) came in the Chicago Blackhawks vs. Phoenix Coyotes series. Coyotes winger Raffi Torres hammered Blackhawks all star Marion Hossa, leaving him motionless on the ice and forcing him to be taken off on a stretcher. Torres is a repeat offender, and Shanny came after him hard, handing down a 25 game suspension to Raffi. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, it didn’t matter much as they were ousted in the first round for the second straight year.
3. Changing of the Guard- There was a time when the Central Division was the joke of the NHL, but that time is no more. Four of the five teams from the division made the playoffs, and two of those teams moved on to the second round. Now you would expect those two teams to be a pair of fairly recent Cup champions, the Red Wings and the Blackhawks, but you would be wrong. The Nashville Predators defeated the Wings and the St. Louis Blues beat the San Jose Sharks to continue their quest for Lord Stanleys Cup. This represents a changing of the guard in the Central Division, where the Blues and Preds have established themselves as bona fide contenders, and the Hawks and the Wings have some serious questions heading in to the summer.
2. The Presidents Trophy Means Nothing- Now this isn`t completely true. The Presidents Trophy means you had an outstanding regular season. However, this means nothing when the puck drops on the playoffs. This years winners, the Vancouver Canucks, were taken down in the first round by the eighth seeded LA Kings. The Kings, led by captain Dustin Brown and goalie Jonathan Quick, stymied the Canucks top players. Last years playoff stars like Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows and Alex Edler looked like anything but stars in the first round. This series also represented a possible change in Vancouver, with Corey Schneider taking over from Roberto Luongo in the first round, and proving that he could be a number one goalie. There will be a lot of questions for the Canucks this summer, but they do have one thing to be happy about, nobody rioted this year! To soon?
1. Battle of Pennsylvania- This was the series that everyone was looking forward to, and it didn’t disappoint. Right from the puck drop, it was clear that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyer’s were going to lay it all on the line in this epic first round match-up. The Flyer’s jumped out to a quick 3-0 series lead thanks to some outstanding comebacks, some great play by their rookies, and some below average Penguins goaltending. However, was there ever any doubt that the Penguins would make this one interesting? The Penguins took the next two games, before Claude Giroux decided enough was enough, and Ilya Bryzgalov got over his fear of bears. The Flyer’s took the series in 6 games, and this will go down as one of the most exciting playoff series’ of all time.
These weren’t the only stories worth mentioning in the first round, in all reality I could have fired off a top 7-8 but that just sounds kind of silly. I have to mention the outstanding goaltending from Pekka Rinne, Mike Smith and of course Jonathon Quick. I also cannot finish without mentioning the play of 23 year old netminder Braden Holtby of Washington. Holtby was unreal in helping the Caps beat out the defending Cup Champion Boston Bruins. We will have a new Champ this year, and that makes the remainder of these playoffs all the more exciting.
Don’t forget to give me a follow on Twitter @qbaby21, and leave your comments. Here’s to enjoying the rest of the playoffs and having a few cold ones with your friends!
72 Comments
solid round of playoffs so far, hopefully it only gets better
1 was the best for sure
loved it
If the first round is any indication, im excited for the rest of the playoffs
sick round
Beauty
as a fellow wings fan, the wings are heading into an important off season if they wanted to stay atop of the Central
i agree, hopefully suter and/or parise are in the future
i find myself rooting against Nashville and New Jersey with the hope that if they falter in the second round, that may help the chances of Suter and Parise leaving and being available for a team like the Wings to pick up.
love the cup
fuckin bryzzy haha and then they wore bear costumes to the next game!
What a great first round, but how will the second round play out.. I don’t foresee and major headlines for it.
I agree but never say never.
Nothing better than this time of year, so intense
Gotta love the second season!!
Great first round so far, Weber definitely got off easy with only a fine
awesome!
Great recap for the first round.
Suck it Crosby
.
Holtby is a top 5 first round story
Waiting to see what the punishments are for players who commit a faux pas … options 1. 2,500$ fine … 2. 25-game suspy aaaaand 3. standing in front of an Al McInnis slapshot
i will have to agree with this list
only to get even better as it goes on in round 2
2012 playoffs… unreal
Solid list, all stories deserve to be there
good stories
Unreal
I`m afraid of bears too
Giroux’s first shift was unreal… Because its the cup
1st round was sick…G came up huge in that game
Unreal
Cup!
cuz its the cup!
So far the second round is looking pretty good too
allright
pre sick
Philly or LA gunna take home the cup
because its the cup, great 1st round
im still in disbelief that raffi got 25 games for that hit. It’ll be a shame if the yotes make it all the way and he cant play
I love watching this time of the year and the type of hockey that is played. Seeing teams like LA, Phoenix, St. Louis, Washington and NJ who allot picked to make an early exit are showing that defence wins championships. I love watching the hard hits, great goaltending and the close games come right down to the wire. If you don’t love this type of hockey, you don’t love the game.
great read
bryz always comes through
nothin about hotbly’s play
Second round sucked compared to the first, and Shanny that piece of shit has no consistancy, just changes the rules whenever he wants absolute bs
first round was best round all playoffs
nice videos
Weber is a goon…glad he’s out
first round was unbelievable, the kings ahve been a great story and surprise, and of course it doesn’t get any better than the battle of PA
nice
playoffs are getting more and more boring.. no tough hockey like the Ottawa Senators and Rangers.
Unreal!
nice
sick stories
Pens vs Flyers was fun to watch
great first round
unreal
crazy first round
nice
WEBER SMASH!
Giroux is a beauty
unreal
so sick
quickie was a beast
utr
good stuff !!!!
nice stuff!
solid round!
awesome
cool
nice vids
dope