Good Times Grimes

Yep, first two in either NJ or NY, second two in LA then back to New York for game 5, LA for game 6 and New York for the seventh. I'm looking forward to seeing the odds for the Cup finals and whether or not LA will be favourites with the bookies.

Well, he at least gets his players going at the right time. I personally couldn't care less about the result in the East, I find both teams very boring to watch. I just hope it goes 7 so that LA will be facing a tired opponent.

LA is only the second team to knock off the #1, #2, and #3 seeds in their conference. Interestingly, the last team to do so was the Calgary Flames in 2004, who were also coached by Sutter.

It would take a miracle for Phoenix to come back from here. What a great feeling it would be to be a Los Angeles fan right now...barely squeaking in to the playoffs and now on the verge of the Stanley Cup finals.

Also, LA is 10-1 so far in the playoffs. Talk about turning it on at the right time.

Devils win 3-2, so it's now 1-1 in that series. Phoenix and LA are in action tonight (or this morning for you) in LA. Phoenix will be without Martin Hanzal after he was suspended for his hit in Game 2.

Toronto's Brett Lawrie has been suspended for 4 games for losing it after 2 very questionable called strikes. He threw his helmet at the ground and it bounced up and hit the umpire. Did anyone else see the incident? What do you think?

LA is on fire. If I were the winner of NYR and NJD I would be praying that Phoenix can at least stretch the series out a bit so that they don't get an extended amount of rest before the final. Gary Bettman would be absolutely thrilled with the likely prospect of a NYR LAK final... even more money in the pockets of an already VERY wealthy league

I found last night's game quite boring, to be honest. I hope that a team from the West wins the Cup. Game 2 happens tonight in Phoenix as the Kings look to remain unbeaten on the road.

I've heard it referred to as the Battle of the Hudson, but to be honest I haven't watched any games between NYR and NJ before. I'm very surprised NJ has made it this far, I thought that Brodeur was on his last legs and they wouldn't even make the playoffs. Good on them. Los Angeles are the surprise of the season; undefeated on the road in the playoffs...maybe it's more of a home ice disadvantage if you're playing the Kings!

I think we're going to have to start labelling you the Kiss of Death, Macca! Rangers and Washington playing tonight in Washington. We will have both conference final match-ups sorted out if the Rangers win.

The Devils have eliminated the Flyers. So it's going to be: New Jersey vs. New York/ Washington LA vs. Phoenix

I can't see Philadelphia winning without Giroux in the lineup. Similarly I can't see Washington coming back to beat the Rangers. Seeing who comes out of the West will be very interesting. It would be great for the NHL if Phoenix could win the Cup, especially since they are still looking for a new owner. Meanwhile, if the Kings make it through and play the Rangers, they will have had the hardest possible route to a Cup by playing a #1 seed (Vancouver), #2 seed (St Louis), #3 seed (Phoenix) and a #1 seed (New York). Similarly, New York could have the easiest possible route to the Cup, if they end up playing New Jersey in the ECF and LA in the Finals. They would have faced a #8 (Ottawa), #7 (Washington), #6 (New Jersey), and #8 (Los Angeles).

LA up 2-1 at the end of the 2nd period. Looks like it could be a sweep. Game 4 for NJ and Philly starts in a couple of hours.

Ahhh how I miss seeing Halladay pitching in Toronto.

It's definitely looking that way. Must-win game for the Capitals tomorrow since they're heading back to MSG for game 5. They don't want to be facing elimination that early on the road.

I think Macca just gave you your answer, Cards. The Kings look unstoppable so far, and they are getting it done in short series'. 5 games in round 1, round 2 could be over very soon for them. They will be less tired come the finals than the teams coming out of the East who will likely have played many more games than them. LA has many scoring threats in Carter, Richards, Brown, Kopitar, Williams, Penner, Doughty...the list goes on. On top of that, Quick is on fire. I would not be at all surprised if the Kings won the cup. That's my new tip.

They're into the 3rd OT period in Washington still tied at 1-1. Nashville has won 2-0 cutting Phoenix's series lead in half to 2-1.

Nashville's out to a 2-0 lead in a must win game 3 over Phoenix. Washington and the Rangers are in overtime tied at 1-1.

Yeah it's great over here, all the games on at convenient times and on multiple channels. It's a trade off though, I had to wake up at 5:30 the other day to watch the Dees and Saints, and when the games are in the afternoon I'm up until about 3am watching them. The Kings are looking the goods at the moment. Looks like it'll be Kings-Coyotes in the Western Conference Finals...would be an interesting match up. Washington did well to win a game on the road, they're in with a real chance now if Holtby can hold down the goaltending.

LA looks like they could be the surprise packet of the playoffs. They did very well to get both Carter and Richards while hanging on to Brown. It's all up to how well Quick can perform over the next month and a half.

NYR won 3-1 today over Washington to go up 1-0. Phoenix beat Nashville 4-3 in OT to also get a 1-0. Blues and Kings in action in under an hour.

I read somewhere that it's the first time that there haven't been any Canadian teams in the final 8 since 1996. The rivalries seem to be much stronger within Canada than between any American teams or Canadian and American teams. That being said, the Boston/Vancouver rivalry has been brewing since they were in the final last year, and it's a shame that they don't play each other very often. I've only been out to BC once. It's the most beautiful place I've ever been and I'd love to go back. Never been to Banff but some of the pictures I've seen of the place look incredible. I'd love to go on a trip to Lake Louise some time soon.

Unfortunately the rivalry between Toronto and Ottawa isn't very strong anymore because it's been so long since we've been good enough to go further than them in the playoffs. Many Toronto fans will go for the team playing Ottawa, but more often than not you will find people are indifferent. Picks for this round: Blues in 6-- I'd like to see the Kings win but I'm not overly fussed. Rangers in 6-- They need to contain Ovechkin/Semin/Backstrom but I think Lundqvist is worlds better than Holtby. Predators in 5-- Should be too good. Flyers in 5-- If Philadelphia can sort our their goaltending they should have no problems. Giroux and Co will be too much for NJ to handle.

NYR have beaten Ottawa 2-1. Very exciting game, and a great result. I'll now be content with any team that wins. NJ leads Florida 1-0 after the 1st period.