The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

As I write this, the 8th place Montreal Canadiens just upset the 1st place Washington Capitals in overtime to take the playoff series lead 1-0.

But these sort of upsets may start to be common place if judged solely from what happened in that game and last night.

All four teams that were labelled underdogs yesterday came out on top to take the series lead: Ottawa, Colorado, Phoenix and Philadelphia. Now it is still very early and a best of 7 usually ensures a team that doesn't deserve to move forward doesn't, but this is further proof of the parity in the NHL, and that punching your ticket to the playoffs is perhaps optimism enough to think your team has a shot at winning the Stanley Cup.

Last night's Senators-Penguins contest was an entertaining contest from start to finish. Lousy goaltending with lots of goals usually makes for a fun game, and both goalies did not play their best and both will have to play better to give their team a chance to win. They both know this, and I think they will rise to the occasion. Overall, the game had lots of drama with a nail-biting final two minutes of play, but I was elated to see my Senators pull through with the win and take the home ice advantage away from the Pens.

Overshadowing the win for Ottawa fans today was the news forward Milan Michalek is done for the playoffs. With a torn ACL like Kovalev, it doesn't bode well for Ottawa when two top-six forwards are on the shelf. With Filip Kuba also out, this is probably the last injury that team can afford to have if they have any chance of moving forward. A lot of people say that injuries aren't an excuse, but any team that loses their important players can only endure it for so long before it catches up with them. Ottawa though has played without much offensive contribution from either player recently, so perhaps they've already learned to live without them.

Not having playoff hockey for two years is too long for any fan and it's resulted in me having a bout of playoff fever much higher than normal. I look forward to seeing the boys go head to head again tomorrow night and see how they continue their quest for Lord Stanley. This is a marathon, not a sprint, but the start of the race is not something I can complain about.