Musings on the First Round...

Whew! It's been a hectic two weeks on and off the ice, and with most of my time being spent catching up on recordings of several games from the first round there hasn't been much time to post. So in order to cap off the first round of the playoffs, some ramblings on the progress of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs:

• Every Stanley Cup Championship team faces some form of adversity at some point during their run to the Cup. For the San Jose Sharks, that adversity came in the form of themselves. After blowing a 3-2 series lead, the Sharks showed what they were made of in Game 7, taking control of the game following a 2-1 deficit at the hands of the Calgary Flames. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this team is finally living up to their potential.

• Speaking of the Sharks, thank the heavens, Jeremy Roenick is back. After two years that can be described as disastrous at best in L.A. and Phoenix, JR has finally returned to the form that commanded respect from his teammates and opponents throughout his career. Not only did he notch four points in Game 7, but displayed the admirable leadership qualities he was once known to possess. He may be a bit long in the tooth and not the same first-line center he once was, but we can now finally say that Roenick will retire as the player everyone knew he could be.
  

• For anyone who began thinking "Carey Price Who?" after the Habs nearly blew a 3-1 series lead, jump off that bandwagon and hop on the "Price=Roy" ride. Trust me, this ride is much warmer (and not just because the Montreal Riot Parade lit the wheels on fire).

• Speaking of bandwagons, don't tell me Ovechkin should have shot the puck. This is one of the few times I strongly disagree with Barry Melrose; had Fedorov placed his stick on the ice, it is more likely that we would be talking about how brilliant the fake slap shot turned game winning pass was. The play was a smart read on Ovechkin's part, unfortunately for him Fedorov just simply did not read the play the same way.

• It's becoming apparent that reaching the Finals truly does affect a team's play the next season. Case in point: both the Ducks and Sens were shells of themselves in their first round exits.

• With all the talk during the Rangers-Devils series about Sean Avery's antics, one point that hasn't been voiced loud and clear is why not one single New Jersey player attempted to make a run at either Henrik Lundqvist, Jaromir Jagr, Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, nor Brendan Shanahan. Last I checked, Martin Brodeur has been the star of the Devils for over a decade; on top of that, he is the their number one goaltender. Regardless of the fact that it is the playoffs a message needed to be sent loud and clear, but the Devils seemed to choose to roll over and die instead.

• Marty Turco may have been a huge piece in beating the Ducks in six, but he's still not in the clear when it comes to being called a playoff flop. The only way he will get that monkey off his back is by getting the Stars to the Conference Finals and, at the very least, having a highly competitive series.

• And finally, if you didn't watch the Avs-Wild Quarterfinals series, you missed out big time. From the second the puck was dropped in Game 1 it was obvious to everyone watching that these two teams were playing for one thing: the Stanley Cup.