Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Saturday, April 17
Calgary at Chicago (9 p.m. EDT). Chicago beat Calgary 3-2 in overtime Thursday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference series. Martin Havlat tied it late in regulation, and won it 12 seconds into overtime.
STARS
Thursday
— Martin Havlat, Blackhawks, scored 12 seconds into overtime to give Chicago a 3-2 victory over Calgary in Game 1 of the Western Conference series. Havlat also scored the tying goal with 5:33 left in regulation.
— Jonas Hiller and Ryan Getzlaf, Ducks. Hiller made 35 saves in a sparkling playoff debut, and Getzlaf had a goal and an assist in the third period in eighth-seeded Anaheim’s 2-0, Game 1 victory over top-seeded San Jose.
— Phil Kessel and Zdeno Chara, Bruins. Kessel had two goals and an assist, and Chara scored with 8:45 left to break a third-period tie in Boston’s 4-2 win over Montreal in Game 1.
— Chris Osgood, Red Wings, made 20 saves in Detroit’s 4-1 series opening victory over Columbus.
SHORT OVERTIME
Martin Havlat’s goal at 12 seconds of overtime in Chicago’s 3-2 victory over Calgary on Thursday night matched the third-fastest overtime goal in NHL playoff history. Havlat was 3 seconds off the NHL record of 9 seconds set by Brian Skrudland for Montreal in 3-2 victory over Calgary on May 18, 1986, in the Stanley Cup finals. J.P. Parise of the Islanders scored in 11 seconds of OT against the Rangers in 1975, and Chicago’s Pit Martin also scored at 12 seconds in 1972 against Pittsburgh.
STATUS
Doug Risebrough was fired as general manager of the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, five days after coach Jacques Lemaire resigned. Risebrough and Lemaire had been with the team since it entered the NHL in 2000. Assistant general manager Tom Lynn will take over as general manager until a replacement is hired.
SUSPENDED
Philadelphia left winger Daniel Carcillo was suspended for one game and coach John Stevens was fined $10,000 by the NHL on Thursday, a day after Carcillo hit Pittsburgh’s Maxime Talbot in the head in the playoff opener. With 7 seconds left in the third period in the Penguins’ 4-1 victory Wednesday night, Carcillo delivered a blow to Talbot’s head directly off a faceoff. Carcillo wasn’t penalized for the hit.
SURGERY
Minnesota left winger Andrew Brunette had surgery on his right knee Thursday. Brunette signed a three-year, $7 million contract to return to the Wild in the offseason. He had 22 goals and 28 assists in 80 games.
SPEAKING
“We felt like we (controlled) the majority of the play, but that’s just hockey. We’ve got to keep people in front of the net, keep getting shots, and it’ll work for us. … We’ve got a good veteran club here, and last year we lost Game 1 against Calgary. We’ve got to think about this for 5 minutes, and then we’ll move on.”—San Jose star Joe Thornton after the top-seeded Sharks’ 2-0 loss to Anaheim on Thursday night.
What bettors need to know: Hockey Night In Canada
By DUSTIN NIELSON
Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins
Big Z sinks the Habs
After falling behind 2-0 in Game 1, the Canadiens managed to fight back. But that comeback was destroyed by one shot from Zdeno Chara. The Bruins somehow found a way to get Chara open on the power play and he fired the NHL’s hardest shot past Habs netminder Carey Price.
"He's got a big shot and he used it," Price told the press. "That's a pretty good thing to have on their side, to have a guy that big who shoots that hard."
Big George on the big line
In a surprising move, Montreal coach Bob Guiney used Georges Laraque on the team’s top line with Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev.
“I thought Georges played well, he didn't make errors with the puck, got a couple of shots on net and provided the Bruins with the challenge of moving his size around in the crease area," Gainey said to reporters.
“It's going to be a long series and Chara plays a lot of big minutes, so if you get a big body on him and finish your checks on him, the wear and tear will be an asset," added Laraque.
The line did contribute with a goal when Kovalev fired one past Tim Thomas to tie the game at 2-2.
Learning from a loss
Despite dropping Game 1, the Canadiens appeared confident and liked their effort.
“Anyone who thought we had no chance, I think we opened their eyes tonight,” said winger Alex Tanguay who assisted on the Habs' first goal. "This game could have finished 6-1 or 4-2 the way it did, I think if you look at our team and look at their team, there's no doubt we can compete with them."
Carey Price made 36 saves and didn’t get rattled after letting in two first-period goals.
"I think our guys are really proud of our effort," Price told the media. "Our team played really well, we skated with them all night. It was a bit of a confidence boost knowing that we can skate with these guys."
Fight to the finish
If Game 1 was any indication of the type of series this is going to be, the team trainers had better be ready for a busy couple of weeks.
The final minute of play was a rough one as Maxim Lapierre attacked Phil Kessel after he scored the Bruins’ fourth goal. Right at the end of the game, Mike Komisarek gave Matt Hunwick a nice face wash during a post-whistle scrum. No disciplinary action from the league is expected.
Markov Skates
One more interesting note that could be a big boost to the Canadiens is the fact that Andrei Markov skated on Friday. Radio station CJAD 800 reported that the Canadiens’ best player skated by himself in Montreal and that could mean he is close to returning.
Calgary Flames at Chicago Blackhawks
Young Hawks show composure
The big question coming into this series was if the Hawks were too inexperienced to succeed in the playoffs. They answered that question by coming from behind twice and then beating a veteran Flames team 3-2 in overtime.
Martin Havlat, who is one of the few players on the Hawks to have played in the playoffs before, tied the game in the third period and then won the game 12 seconds into overtime.
"We were patient, sticking to the plan until the end. There wasn't planning going into overtime," Havlat said to the press following the game. "I was shooting to score a goal."
Windy City controversy
What would the NHL playoffs be without a little controversy?
The Calgary Flames were unhappy with the overtime winner as Andrew Ladd bumped into Miikka Kiprusoff while driving to the net. Flames coach Mike Keenan believes interference could have been called.
“I believe it was Ladd who did not try to stop his movement toward the net and that's goaltender interference," Keenan told reporters. "However, the officials saw it different or didn't make the call because of the excitement of overtime."
Watching replays of the goal show that Calgary defenseman Jordan Leopold actually pushed Ladd towards Kiprusoff.
Hawks ready for more
The Hawks are acting like a team who has been in this situation before and they know that Calgary will bring a better effort Saturday.
“We can expect them to come out with a better game," said Chicago's Cam Barker who tied it at 1-1 in the second period. "It might have taken us a little bit to get into this game, but once we did, we started making more plays."
Flames head coach Mike Keenan is putting an emphasis on finishing strong. He was happy with his team's start to Game 1 but believes in order to win on the road Calgary has to weather the Blackhawks' comebacks late in the game.
Khabibulin douses the Flames
Nikolai Khabibulin has got the Flames' shooters rattled.
Khabibulin made some spectacular saves in the first two periods of Game 1 and gave the Hawks a chance to come back and win the game. Khabibulin is now 23-5-1 in his career against the Flames.
NY RANGERS (44-30-0-9, 97 pts.) at WASHINGTON (50-25-0-8, 108 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 21-6 ATS (+12.8 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
WASHINGTON is 43-27 ATS (+71.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
NY RANGERS are 9-1 ATS (+7.8 Units) in the first round of the playoffs over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 5-12 ATS (-11.6 Units) in home games in the first round of the playoffs since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 7-6 (+0.9 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 7-6-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
7 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.2 Units)
CALGARY (46-30-0-7, 99 pts.) at CHICAGO (47-25-0-11, 105 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 12-4 ATS (+6.9 Units) in April games over the last 3 seasons.
CHICAGO is 42-37 ATS (+81.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
CALGARY is 24-17 ATS (+42.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 9-4 (+7.7 Units) against the spread versus CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 9-4-0 straight up against CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.8 Units)
COLUMBUS (41-32-0-10, 92 pts.) at DETROIT (52-21-0-10, 114 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
COLUMBUS is 6-23 ATS (+44.2 Units) in road games vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 33-5 ATS (+21.1 Units) in home games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
COLUMBUS is 41-42 ATS (+87.9 Units) in all games this season.
COLUMBUS is 15-10 ATS (+27.4 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
COLUMBUS is 94-94 ATS (+211.8 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game since 1996.
COLUMBUS is 10-4 ATS (+15.1 Units) after 3 or more consecutive losses over the last 2 seasons.
COLUMBUS is 23-18 ATS (+48.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
COLUMBUS is 21-18 ATS (+49.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 28-22 ATS (-21.9 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
COLUMBUS is 9-14 (+2.7 Units) against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 14-9-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
14 of 21 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+6.5 Units)
MONTREAL (41-31-0-11, 93 pts.) at BOSTON (54-18-0-11, 119 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
MONTREAL is 41-42 ATS (-17.4 Units) in all games this season.
MONTREAL is 20-27 ATS (-13.7 Units) second half of the season this season.
MONTREAL is 24-28 ATS (-15.6 Units) on Saturday games over the last 2 seasons.
MONTREAL is 10-15 ATS (-10.4 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
MONTREAL is 19-23 ATS (-12.4 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
MONTREAL is 11-16 ATS (-9.8 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
BOSTON is 38-24 ATS (+65.3 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 28-7 ATS (+28.0 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
BOSTON is 117-109 ATS (-51.4 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 18-12 (+2.2 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
MONTREAL is 18-12-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
15 of 26 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.2 Units)
NY RANGERS vs. WASHINGTON
NY Rangers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games
NY Rangers are 5-15 SU in their last 20 games on the road
Washington is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Washington's last 10 games when playing at home against NY Rangers
COLUMBUS vs. DETROIT
Columbus is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Columbus is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Detroit is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 6 games
MONTREAL vs. BOSTON
Montreal is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Montreal's last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Boston's last 8 games at home
CALGARY vs. CHICAGO
Calgary is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Calgary's last 8 games
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Calgary
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 6 games when playing Calgary