And right about now, how sorry are the Capitals that they shipped out that 2nd round pick to Montreal for Huet, and DIDN’T KEEP HIM? I bet that (former, lonnnngtime Capitals goalie) Olaf Kolzig, somewhere, is laughing. And where is Huet? Riding the pine, backing up Nicholai Khabibulin, in Chicago.

Did you guys watch that Bruins-Habs game?

I havent seen a team play such a dominating physically, positionally and skillfully game in a long long time.

I mean we’ve seen Datsyuk & Co. (Don’t look but he’s the MIP in hockeytown now-appologies to Perfect Nic) undress teams and then stymie them with 20-minute sessions of keep-away.

San Jose has shown flashes of it in past postseasons, but Boston tonight just looked like world-beaters-such a convincing win. I remember some Dallas and NJD teams that dominated games like that where the other team just never had a prayer, but all of those were more machine/Borg-like.

Boston just playing good hard-nosed fast hockey. Wow. I didn’t think Bob Gainey was going to get fired.

Montreal turns just one more performance like tonight’s (and honestly, they just can’t seem to be able to-Markov’s absence is growing by the minute) and he’ll be shown the door I believe.

Before you say, that’s crazy!! Ya stick to what “brung ya” to the dance. I remind you all of the 2006 playoffs. In those playoffs, Carolina lost BOTH games, at home, against Montreal, with Gerber in net. Head Coach Peter Laviolette turned to Cam Ward, resulting in a gasp, “Who???,” for Game Three in Montreal. The results? Carolina won the next four games, en route to winning the Conference, en route to winning the Stanley Cup over Edmonton in seven games. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner that year??? Answer: Cam Ward, a rookie.

Columbus trails Detroit, 2-0. They’ve been outscored 8-1. Time to make a change in net? Or not? Montreal trails Boston, 2-0. Young Carey Price has come under fire. Boston has outscored Montreal 9-3, and Halak has actually made an appearance in Game Two. So, do the Habs stick with Price, or go with Halak the rest of the way? Or just for Game Three?

What about the Capitals? This should “stir it!” Should Head Coach Bruce Boudreau do like Bob Hartley did in Game Three of 2007, and return with his “mainstay” goaltender, Jose Theodore, for Game Three in New York? You’ll all recall that Moose played a very solid Game Two for Atlanta and was declared to be the goalie from that point forward by Hartley. In Game Two, Boudreau turned to Varlamov, who turned in a solid performance. Point of fact, he surrendered but ONE (1) goal. He didn’t get much production from the O-ffense, as the Caps were blanked by Lundqvist. So, what should Boudreau do? Stick with the hot backup, Varlamov? Or go with Theodore? When Hartley returned with Lehtonen, the Southeast Division Champions were blanked 7-0 at the Gahden. In Game Three, the 2009 Southeast Division Champions will be playing a “must win” game. With they be more like the 2006 Southeast Division Champions, rally for four (4) wins, take the series, to reach the Finals? Or will they be like the 2007 Southeast Division Champions, and be SWEPT?

If I’m John Tortorella, Head Coach of the Rangers, I now know this is my series to lose. There are potentially five (5) games left, with three (3) at the Gahden. Failure to close out this series with the Capitals will result in a “roasting” of the Broadway Blueshirts by the New York media. Nevermind that this is a 7th seeded Ranger team. Right now, I’d wager that fans on the Rangers blogsites are ALLLLREADDDDY sizing up a 2nd round series matchup with their arch rivals, the Boston Bruins, who are also up, 2-0, in their series. If the Rangers do win, and Habs don’t rally to take the series from Boston, then the Bruins (1) would face (7) the Rangers in the Conference Semi-Finals. And won’t that please Commissioner Bettman? If the TV-ratings on Boston vs. NYR suck, then hockey is in trouble. These are “original six” markets, steeped in hockey tradition.

NJ and Carolina are tied, 1-1. But Pittsburgh is up, 2-0, on Philly. I don’t think the Flyers will turn to Niittymaki in Game Three. But if the Penguins win that game, they’re almost certain to advance to Round II. The Penguins would host the Devils/Hurricanes winner, if Boston beats Montreal and the Rangers defeat the Capitals. Pens vs. NJ/Carolina winner would be a great matchup for the 2nd round.

Dang, Red Wings up, 3-0, in the 2nd period, over Columbus.

As for Lehtonen, I really think he’d be in a much better situation if our blueline were something like (”Tier I guy” – “Tier I guy”), Bogosian-Enstrom, Hainsey-Valabik. But it’s not. And probably won’t be for quite a while. What I’m saying here is … Kari doesn’t suck. He’d have much better numbers with a better system and better defenders in front of him. Uhh, I realize … that’s true of ANY goaltender. I’ve forgotten how old Kari is, but he’s nowhere near 30. Which means … his PRIME YEARS are still ahead of him. I’d re-sign him to a 3-year deal. That’s a happy compromise. He can’t fetch $5 million a year. He’ll wind up somewhere between $3.5 million to $3.75 million. Perhaps, as much as $4 million-per-year. It’s easy to point to Lehtonen and declare “him” to be the problem. It’s easy to look at Waddell and declare “him” to be the problem. But in the bigger picture, there’s a lot of blame to be spread around. Things are the way they are for this Thrashers team for a REASON. And worst part of it, is that Atlanta wounds are “self-inflicted.”

For my $0.02, I’d try to go with Lehtonen-Pavelec as the “1-2 punch” for the coming years, until it become obvious that one or both of them just can’t get the job done. The good news for both of these goalies is … there’s no “playoff ultimatum” hanging over this team. Quite on the contrary, I think there’s a VERY UNANNOUNCED “4 year building project” that is now halfway completed. What BETTER TIME to develop goalies than during a time when the team is expected to finish in the lottery draft, with salary cap FLOOR payrolls? (The uhh, “problem” with that, is selling it to Kovalchuk, who has waited entirely too long for this team to try to gun for the Stanley Cup. But that’s another topic.)

You forget who’s running the show in TB. Really, thinking about it, plus considering my link posted above, makes me feel more sorry for them.

…Almost. Hard to feel bad for a rival.