The Story Continues into the Conference Finals
The magic of the Stanley Cup Playoffs still hasn’t faded as the remaining teams are vying for the final four spots. So far, the St.Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes, and Boston Bruins have all punched their tickets to their respective Conference Finals. The San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche are set to finish their series on May 8 in San Jose for the final spot in the West.
The Hurricanes might have one of the most feel-good stories of the playoffs so far. Earlier in the year, they reacquired forward Justin Williams, also known as “Mr. Game 7.” Williams was made captain by new head coach and former Captain and Stanley Cup Champion, Rod Brind’Amour and the team immediately meshed.
After home game wins, the Hurricanes would put on a bit of show for the fans as a thank you for their unwavering support over the past decade of playoff-less hockey. One famous hockey pundit Don Cherry wasn’t amused with their fun, calling them “a bunch of jerks.” The Hurricanes though, have fully embraced the name-calling and have made it part of their playoff run.
The Hurricanes opponent, the Boston Bruins, have had a bit of a different approach to their playoff run. During both series they have had, the first against the Toronto Maple Leafs and their most recent against the Columbus Bluejackets, controversy has followed them. Bruins forward Jake Debrusk was involved in a dangerous play where he finished a check against Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau in a dangerous part of the boards.
Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri jumped Debrusk and was ultimately kicked from the game. Many fans believe that Debrusk should have been penalized and that Kadri’s actions were justified. This wasn’t the last time hockey fans were in an uproar about the Boston Bruins, this time, Brad Marchand was caught on camera punching Bluejackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the back of the head.
No punishment was dealt to Marchand in the form of a penalty, fine, or suspension which was surprising even to most hockey analysts. Knowing Marchand’s history within the league, most would assume he would have received a suspension at the least. We will have to wait to see what’s in store for the series against the Hurricanes.
The St.Louis Blues and Dallas Stars finished their seven-game series last night in double overtime as Pat Maroon scored the game-winner for the Blues, sending them to the Western Conference Final. Stars goaltender Ben Bishop didn’t make things easy for the Blues as he stopped 52 of 54 shots he faced on the night. His counterpart on the other side, Jordan Binnington had just 29 saves on the 30 he faced.
Bishop had been a stalwart in net for the Stars carrying an impressive .933 save percentage and 2.22 goals allowed average, numbers that are hard to achieve in the regular season, almost unseen in the playoffs. The Stars were hoping that their young defensive core and new additions from the deadline would carry them to their first West Conference Final in over 10 years but they fell just short. The Blues are now awaiting the winner of the Avalanche and Sharks series, their next opponent before the Stanley Cup Finals.
San Jose is looking to reach their fourth Western Conference Final appearance in the last five years, while Colorado is looking to reach it for the first time since the 2001–02 season. The Sharks are still without their leading scorer and captain Joe Pavelski who was injured in San Jose’s last series against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Avalanche are banged up themselves, missing gritty forward Matt Calvert for half of the series due to a hit he received from Sharks defenseman Brent Burns.
Only one team can escape to the next round and move one step closer on their journey to the Stanley Cup. Sharks and Avalanche, May 8 at 6:00 pm PST in San Jose.
