This was a heck of a Saturday night for playoff hockey fans. It is a time of year where the dice is rolled and rolled often in the hopes of catching a break. Sure enough, an impressive performance occurred in Los Angeles while Boston found a way to push Montreal to the brink.
It seems perfect that this post will be published on Sunday. I would like to wish a happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. To my mom, thank you for having the patience to put up with an at times petulant child who does things at a different beat than most. We may not get along always but in the end, I am thankful that you are simply….mom.
Let’s get down to business with the three stars on a thunderous Saturday night in the NHL playoffs.
Fantasy Hockey Three Stars
Third Star — Carl Soderberg — Boston Bruins
Bork! Bork! Bork! Somewhere the “Swedish Chef” is smiling once again. Boston fans had been waiting for Carl Soderberg to score a goal and sure enough he set the tone against Montreal with his first goal in the first period of Game 5. He would not be done as the forward would add two more assists, giving him a three point night. Playoff box pool owners who waited seemingly forever were finally rewarded. There was a definite chemistry between Loui Eriksson and Soderberg. It will be interesting to see how this translates up in Montreal for Game 6.
Second Star — Ryan Getzlaf — Anaheim Ducks
It was a heck of a 29th birthday for Ryan Getzlaf, who celebrated by being the offense for the Anaheim Ducks in their 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings. The Ducks mounted an eleven-shot barrage, netting two goals in the first period. They only had three shots after. Getzlaf tallied a goal and an assist along with the goal being on the man advantage. He played nearly 21 minutes, blocked shots, hit people, and saved a near goal to boot. The “Freeway Faceoff” is now even and Ryan Getzlaf was definitely one of the two main reasons why.
First Star — John Gibson — Anaheim Ducks
Bruce Boudreau had a very curious hunch about playing John Gibson. Needless to say, the gamble not only worked but it paid off handsomely as Anaheim has home ice advantage back. Gibson made 28 saves in all, including 12 saves in a second period where Anaheim fired no shots on net the other way. It was a strange sort of game and yet the Ducks goalie remained calm. Anyone that knows John Gibson realizes that his best attribute is his mind. He has a short memory on the ice and a long memory off it. The goalie has won on just about every level and did have a shutout for Norfolk of the AHL in his playoff debut there. This may just be what finally jettisons Jonas Hiller out of town.
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Thanks again for reading and Sunday could feature a potential elimination or will the New York Rangers force a Game 7? Time will tell.
