Posted by E.J. Hradek
The second night of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs is in the books. Here are five things that stood out:
1. After a disappointing regular season, which left everyone doubting him (again), Wings goalie Chris Osgood came up with a big performance in the defending champs' 4-1 win over the upstart Blue Jackets. In the first period of their first playoff game, the Blue Jackets were buzzing all over the ice. In the first two minutes of the period, Osgood had to come up with a huge stop on Jason Chimera after a dismal turnover by defenseman Brad Stuart. Not too long after that, Osgood stood tall as crease-crashing Blue Jackets tough guy Jared Boll tried to bang a loose puck past him. In all, Osgood had to make several big stops -- including a nice glove save on a second-chance opportunity from R.J. Umberger -- to keep his team in the game during the opening stanza. In the final 40 minutes, the Wings locked down the game, allowing just eight shots. However, if Osgood hadn't been solid in the first 20, the outcome could have been different.
2. Not surprisingly -- at least to me -- Columbus was very competitive in its Game 1 loss. Coach Ken Hitchcock's team was hanging with the defending champs in the first half of the game. In fact, they had the better of the play during a couple of different stretches. They didn't get rattled when Jiri Hudler gave the Wings a 1-0 lead at the 10:48 mark of the second period. Instead, Umberger answered for the Jackets just 52 seconds later. (If you recall, the former Buckeyes star enjoyed a terrific playoff campaign for the Flyers last spring.)
But the game turned quickly just a few minutes later. Columbus' Manny Malhotra accidentally slapped a seemingly harmless Jonathan Ericsson shot past goalie Steve Mason. The strange goal gave the Wings a 2-1 lead. On the following shift, Antoine Vermette took a hooking penalty. The Wings' top-rated power play needed just eight seconds to convert the chance. That made it 3-1. Game over. There's little room for error against Detroit. I'll be curious to see how Columbus responds in Game 2.
3. The Bruins survived a tough challenge from the overmatched and dinged-up Canadiens to take a 1-0 series lead. Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara made the difference, firing a power-play rocket past Habs goalie Carey Price at the 11:15 mark of the third period. Boston coach Claude Julien has to be tickled black and gold that his captain made a statement in the club's series opener. While I still like the B's to win the series, I get the feeling it's not going to be quite as easy as I might have thought. The Canadiens overcame a 2-0 lead to even the score on an Alexei Kovalev blast at the 17:37 mark of the middle period. I thought Kovy's shot might go right through the net. It was an absolute laser that went just under the crossbar.
4. After a seven-year playoff absence, the postseason roar was back in Chicago. The United Center was absolutely rocking during the performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner." I was getting chills just watching on TV. Chicago SportsNet made a nice call by televising the anthems. Often, home viewers are watching commercials during the anthems. After a slow start, the Blackhawks sent the fans home happy with a 3-2 overtime victory. Flames defenseman Jordan Leopold probably would like to forget about the 11-second sequence that led to the goal. After the Flames won the opening faceoff in overtime, the former University of Minnesota star tried to make a long cross-ice pass through the neutral zone, but it was picked off by Hawks forward Dave Bolland. On the rush, Bolland left the puck for on-rushing linemate Martin Havlat (he also scored the tying goal in the final minutes of regulation time). As Havlat launched a low shot to the net, Leopold appeared to knock Hawks forward Andrew Ladd into goalie Miikka Kiprusoff. Due to the collision, Kiprusoff was unable to stop Havlat's shot from entering the net and ending the game. I suspect a veteran like Leopold will be able to put it behind him and get ready for Game 2.
5. The pressure just got bumped up a notch in San Jose. The eighth-seeded Ducks flew north to grab a 2-0 win from the men in teal in Game 1 of the first playoff meeting between the two California teams. Future first-ballot Hall of Famer and Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer converted a neat cross-ice pass from underappreciated star center Ryan Getzlaf into a power-play goal to snap a scoreless tie at the 5:18 mark of the third period. Getzlaf added an insurance goal with a wicked wrister that eluded Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov with just 2:25 left in the game.
The Ducks were whistled for six penalties in the game, but they managed to kill them off with the help of starting goalie Jonas Hiller. The Swiss stopper, making his first NHL playoff start, turned back 35 shots to earn the shutout win. I guess those of us who were worried about Hiller's inexperience can put that one to bed. Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle turned to Hiller down the stretch when Jean-Sebastien Giguere continued to struggle. He hasn't let his coach down. Sharks coach Todd McLellan will be focused on adding a few new wrinkles to the club's power play for Sunday's Game 2 at the Shark Tank. If the Sharks can't capitalize on the power play, they'll have a tough time beating the Ducks, who have heated up at just the right time.
ESPN.com Stanley Cup playoffs blog
