It's All About the Man Between the Pipes

(all information regarding the 1^st round of the playoffs can be found on www.nhl.com)

If anything is remembered about the first round of the 2012 NHL playoffs, it shouldn't be that both #1 vs #8 series went to seven with one #8 seed winning, nor should it be that both cup teams from the previous year were eliminated (one being the President's Cup winner). Let the first round be remembered for the teams that advanced and the unified reason why: the man between the pipes.

Nashville (4-1 over Detroit), St. Louis (4-1 over San Jose), Phoenix (4-2 over Chicago), LA (4-2 over Vancouver), NYR (4-3 over Ottawa), Philadelphia (4-2 over Pitt.), Washington (4-3 over Boston), and New Jersey (4-3 over Florida) all won their first round series. All but two of those (New Jersey and Philadelphia) were won by one or more clutch performances by their individual goaltenders. 

Pekka Rinne for Nashville had the hardest match-up I believe in the first round. He was going up against the Detroit Red Wings: playoff pedigree and best home record in the NHL. So what if they'd fallen from challenging for the President's Cup to being the fifth seed? It's the DETROIT RED WINGS! Nonetheless, Pekka stopped 35 of 37, 41 of 43, 40 of 41, and 21 of 22 in the four games he won. His only loss was a 14 of 17 save night in a loss at home. Nashville took both in Detroit, a place where the Red Wings had lost 10 times in 41 games. 

Phoenix goalie Mike Smith astonished me in the 1^st round (much to my dismay). In the six games the Coyotes and the Blackhawks go to overtime for five straight games. Smith in those games was 3-1, saving 43 of 45, 46 of 50, 35 of 37, 30 of 32, and 36 of 38 in a loss. The final game of the series may have been his best, saving all 39 shots he faced and the Coyotes made sure they wouldn't need overtime again, winning the game 4-0, and the series 4-1. 

I expected St. Louis to win their series against San Jose. As an Anaheim fan, I'm not fond of San Jose, and the Sharks haven't had the best of luck in the playoffs. The Blues have a deadly combo in Halak and Elliott between the pipes, and proved it in this series. Halak stopped 31 of 34 in a loss, then stopped all 12 shots he faced before leaving with an injury. Brian Elliot came in (who I thought should be starting the playoffs for the Blues anyways) and saved the final 17 shots, securing a win for Halak. Elliot then won the next three games, saving 26 of 29, 24 of 25, and 26 of 27 to win the series four games to one and continue San Jose's playoff woes. 

Again, any Pacific Division team I hate (as a Ducks fan). When Los Angeles faced off against the two-time President's Cup trophy winning Vancouver Canucks, I was all for the #1 seed to take the series in five. I was half right. It was the upstart Kings, behind the great goal play from Jonathan Quick that finished the cup runners-up in five games. Four goals scored in each of the first two games in Vancouver, Quick stopped 24 of 26, and an astounding 46 of 48 shots in the road wins. Coming down the Pacific coastline and to LA, Quick stopped all 41 shots from the Canucks in a game three shutout win. The only slip up Quick had in the series was game four when Vancouver got three goals past him to record their only win of the series. Quick returned to form and stopped 26 of 27 in an overtime win in Vancouver to end the finals hopes of the defending Western Conference champions.

Washington's Braden Holtby is only in his second year of NHL experience, and is called upon to eliminate the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins...this kid had the WORST match-up to deal with in the first round. Despite that, he came through for them in a grueling, physical 7-game series that the Caps pulled off the upset in. Game one he was fantastic, even in an overtime loss, saving 29 of 30 shots. Game 2 he continued to be great, saving 43 of 44 shots in a win and taking home ice away from the Bruins. Game 3 was bad, 25 saves, 4 goals allowed in a loss. Game 4, the game I first took notice of this kid. A critical game on home ice with the series momentum hanging in the balance, and he stops 44 of 45 shots in a win, terrific! Another win came in game 5, Holtby saving 34 of 37. A game 6 loss, 27 of 31 saved was bad, but only built on the suspense the series created. Game 7, put up or shut up, Holtby put up, stepped up, and saved 31 of 32 in an overtime win and first round upset.

One of the big questions going into these playoffs was: Could the New York Rangers be as good as they appeared to be during the season? The answer game in a seven game series with upstart Ottawa, with the top seed gutting out the series due to the great performances by Henrik Lundqvist. Game 1 was a 30 save out of 32 shot win on home ice, but the way the playoffs had been going I wasn't expecting the Rangers to take game 2. In an overtime loss in game 2, Lundqvist let up 3 goals and saved 29 shots in a loss that was expected by me because it was following the trend that most of the playoff series had gone. In Ottawa, game 3, Lundqvist shut out the Senators, stopping all 39 shots and took back any momentum the 8 seed wanted to develop. Game 4 was a setback, another 3 goals let up, another overtime loss. 28 of 31 isn't bad at all, but it wasn't good enough to win that night. Back in the US, game 5, series even, Lundqvist stopped 28 of 29 shots, but his team couldn't score and the Rangers were on the brink much like Vancouver. Lundqvist stepped up even more than he already had, as did the Rangers offense and they finished the Senators off with two straight wins, the New York goalie saving 25 of 27 in game 6, and 26 of 27 in game 7. 

Goalies played a huge part in the first round of the playoffs. So many great goalies took charge of their team and protected the nets so they could advance. Will it be the same in the second round? Only time will tell as the playoffs thin out to four in each conference. Smith vs Rinne (Phoenix vs Nashville), and Quick vs Elliot/Halak (Kings vs Blues) in the West. If Halak can't go, then it's all on the capable Elliot. In the East, Lundqvist and the Rangers face off against Holtby and the Capitals, while offensive-minded Philadelphia gets the New Jersey Devils and the most veteran of goalies in the playoffs: Martin Brodeur. Buckle up, the 2012 NHL Playoffs have been fantastic so far, and it doesn't look like it will end soon.