The first-ever Stanley Cup playoff showdown between the NHL’s top two superstars has lived up to the hype. On 
Monday night Alexander Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals forced a seventh game in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-4 overtime win at The Igloo (or, if you’re a stickler for corporate names, the soon-to-be-replaced Mellon Arena). This, despite the Penguins tying the game on Sidney Crosby’s goal with just over 4 minutes left in the third period and putting tremendous pressure on the Caps during a power play in the last two minutes of regulation.
Three of the six games have gone to overtime. All but one has been decided by one goal, and neither team has had a lead of more than two goals in any game in the series. Ovechkin and Crosby are tied for the league lead in playoff goals with 10 each, while Alex the Great leads Sid the Kid 20-18 in total points. (The Penguins have played 12 games in the postseason to the Capitals’ 13.) But in case you think either of these teams is a one-man show, Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin is third with 17 points, and Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin are 5th and 6th in points, respectively. And it’s not just the stars who are contributing. The Capitals’ David Steckel — who missed an open net in the first minute of OT in Game 5, won by the Pens minutes later — redeemed himself by deflecting home a point shot to win Game 6.
Game 7 is Wednesday night in Washington at 7 pm ET and can be seen in the USA on Versus. If you reveled in the excellence that was the NBA Boston Celtics-Chicago Bulls playoff series, you should be watching this one as well.
on May 12th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
It really is such a shame that hockey simply doesn’t play well on TV. I love this series and the Ovechkin vs. Crosby matchup. And the overall quality of play has been superb.
But it’s hard to sell hockey on TV when it seems like almost half the goals are hard to follow/see even with slow motion.
Last night’s OT winner in game 6 was a perfect example. During the initial live feed it was impossible to see what actually happened to the flight of the puck and how it got by the goaltender. Even in slow motion replay it’s still not that easy to follow. As I said, it’s a shame.
on May 12th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
I can sort of appreciate what you are saying Mike – but for pople like me who can actually even remember watching Hockey Night In Canada back in 1967 when my Leafs last won the Stanley Cup – we are so used to following the flow of the game on TV – the problem of losing the puck is minimal. And now with High Def and 42″ or larger screens it is awesome.
Other than the small fast moving puck – everything else about the game is just so good! Its high speed, big hits, skill, teamwork and the fact that you just never know that a key moment in the game might happen 3 seconds from now.
So different from football and baseball – both which I like – but only have about 10 minutes per game when the ball is actually in play. And of course basketball is known (for many up here at least) as the sport that you only have to watch the last 3-4 minutes – that actually takes about half an hour or longer to play. Hockey – especially during the playoffs can be so exciting for non stop extended stretches. And nothing in any of the other sports comes close to the drama of sudden death overtime. I know – I’m sounding so Canadian – it’s true.
Hockey is by far the most valuable sports property on TV up here. One night early last week there were two hockey games going head to head with two NBA playoff games. Two million Canadians watched one of the hockey games, 600,000 the other. At the same time NATIONALLY the two NBA Playoff games drew 9,000 and 17,000 viewers respectively. I guess the NBA’s MVP is responsible for attracting 8,000 extra viewers across all of Canada – because it was a Cavs game that got the 17,000.
I can’t wait for tomorrow nights Game 7 with the Caps and Pens. And Boston have forced a game 7 with Carolina and Anaheim is leading their Game 6 against Detroit. Even though my Leafs are long dead this season – I’m really psyched with these playo9ffs. Awesome stuff!