If you had access to a TV today, you were in hockey heaven. Sunday’s four games had hard hits, scoring, drama, and loud fans that you had to be asleep not to enjoy it.

Pittsburgh 3 @ Philadelphia 6 – If you were a goaltender, this wasn’t a pretty game. Everyone else had to love the free-flowing offense and the physicality, especially the Philly fans who saw their team pick up their first win of the playoffs. Whether it was the bloodlust atmosphere in Philly or the intense rivalry, both teams combined for 58 penalty minutes. Simon Gagne led the way for the Flyers with two goals, including a short-handed game-winning goal.
Pittsburgh leads the series 2-1

Vancouver 3 @ St. Louis 2 – Give the Canucks a chance and they’ll make you pay. Vancouver went 3-for-6 on the power play to put a stranglehold on this series. You can’t fault Chris Mason in this one. He had a stellar game for the Blues and was arguably better than Luongo tonight. Now, Vancouver has to win only one of the next four games to clinch the series and can be the first team to punch their ticket to the second round with a win on Tuesday.
Vancouver leads the series 3-0

New Jersey 3 @ Carolina 2 (OT) – No captain? No problem. Despite missing Jamie Langenbrunner and being on the road, the Devils controlled the better part of this game. They led twice in regulation before letting the ‘Canes catch up. Travis Zajac scored 5 minutes into overtime and there was no more coughing up the lead. Despite some early season woes for Carolina and some late season troubles for New Jersey, these two teams are playing competitive hockey and both are playing like they deserve to be in the playoffs.
New Jersey leads the series 2-1

Anaheim 3 @ San Jose 2 – This Hiller guy continues to impress. After shutting out the Sharks in game one, he turned aside 42 shots to carry Anaheim to another win. The Ducks’ penalty kill also did its job, stopping all six San Jose power play opportunities. The Sharks looked better in this game than in game one. There’s not much they can improve on other than improving puck movement because Hiller is playing so well now that I can’t imagine any teams want to face him. Now I regret picking the Sharks sweep. Remember kids: Ribbing a buddy is never a good basis to use for making a prediction.
Anaheim leads the series 2-0

Monday’s Schedule:
Boston @ Montreal – Boston leads the series 2-0
Washington @ NY Rangers – New York leads the series 2-0
Chicago @ Calgary – Chicago leads the series 2-0