The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs kicked off with a bang last night with four games on the schedule. For the duration of the playoffs, we’ll have our nightly recap of what went down on the ice.

Philadelphia 1 @ Pittsburgh 4 – The more things change, the more they stay the same. Last year’s Eastern Conference finals rematch was a Penguins rout of Philly and it looks like nothing has changed. Four different goal scorers (Crosby, Malkin, Tyler Kennedy, and Mark Eaton) lead the Pens to victory in game one. While it looks like it’s back to the drawing board for the Flyers, they have to cut back on mistakes to keep pace with the Pens.
Pittsburgh leads the series 1-0

NY Rangers 4 @ Washington 3 – With captain Chris Drury out of the lineup, it was the Rangers other playoff veteran, Scott Gomez, who led the way with 3 points for the Blueshirts in the victory. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves on 35 shots while Washington’s goaltending proved to be their Achilles’ Heel as Jose Theodore let in 4 goals on 21 shots. Discipline will be preached in the Rangers locker room heading into game two as they had 7 penalties to the Caps four.
New York leads the series 1-0

Carolina 1 @ New Jersey 4 – The Devils quited their critics by shooting the ‘Canes into submission. While Martin Brodeur had an easy night (19 shots against), Carolina goalie Cam Ward couldn’t get any rest facing 39 shots. The Devils backed their way into the playoffs but showed the mid-season form they had when Brodeur was injured. A capable defence limited Carolina’s chances and did it cleanly by taking only one penalty all game.
New Jersey leads the series 1-0

St. Louis 1 @ Vancouver 2 – Unlike the other three games on the schedule tonight, this was a goaltending duel. Chris Mason and Roberto Luongo made save after save but Mason let the red light shine one more time than Bobby Lu giving the Canucks the victory. Soon-to-be-free agent Daniel Sedin had a goal and assist for the Canuckleheads. Luongo is too good a goaltender to have much problem with only 26 shots. St. Louis will have to get more pucks on goal if they don’t want this to be a short series.
Vancouver leads the series 1-0