NHL Playoff Observations: Nothing Decided Friday Night

Written by

Janet Eagleson

Published on May 8, 2015

Just a few things that caught my eye:

Henrik Lundqvist/Braden Holtby -- this is the best goalie duel in any playoff round in the last 10 years. Seriously.
Accidentally on purpose. Corey Perry does A LOT of dirty things. He didn't get caught Friday night. #Horseshoes.
Sean Monahan turned Simon Depres into a pretzel on that outside-in move late in the second. Poor Simon ended up asking for the mustard with his feet in the air and his arse on the ice. And to think Monahan's NHL potential was questioned in his draft year.

Discipline. The Flames need a little of it. No, they need a lot. Right, Joe Colborne??? Dork.
Help me out here -- how the freak was there a 2-on-0 in a playoff elimination game? Curtis Glencross converted after being benched for three games. But 2-on-0? Against the Rangers?
Speaking of Glencross, he ended up wearing the goat horns in OT. He coughed up the puck to Jasper Fast in the neutral zone and within seconds, the game-winning biscuit was in the basket. What's the over-under on him being a healthy scratch again?
Braden Holtby really is a beast. The Rangers should have been up by four or five after the first period. Mitch Korn really has turned him into a difference maker.
What kind of year is it when a free agent coach gets more interest than the players? I'd give up the third-round compensation pick to sign Mike Babcock. But if I was Mike, I'd be making sure I picked a team that's already poised for greatness. Scotty Bowman learned the hard way when he went to Buffalo. Babcock doesn't need his legacy tarnished the same way.
Little-known fact -- Matt Beleskey has a four-game goal streak on the go. His Cy Young season (22 goals-10 assists) season continues.
Where would the Flames be if Mark Giordano was in the lineup?
That disallowed goal by the Caps in the second -- there's no way that should have been waived off. Joel Ward didn't initiate contact -- King Henrik did. And then he whined. It worked. No surprise about that.
Sam Bennett doesn't get a lot of ice time, but man, do you ever notice him when he's on the ice. Who cares that he couldn't do a single pull-up at last year's draft combine? It's not exactly a transferable skill ...
The pressure is on the Caps now and in a big way. They absolutely DO NOT want to head back to Madison Square this series. Because it's an absolute crap shoot if that happens.
Is it just me or did the Flames completely forget how to enter the zone in the third period? Wow. Complete disorganization. Even on the power play. How the heck does that happen?