The Hat Trick

First of all, I want to take the time out in my blog to congratulate Erica and Will on a wonderful wedding this weekend in North Carolina. I hope their lives are filled with as much happiness and love as I saw this weekend. Also, I can’t forget the mothers out there and hope they had a Happy Mother’s Day.

Oh, what a weekend! The Penguins came back from the dead in back-to-back wins and took control of the series. The Red Wings finally wake up and show there true offensive talent vs. the Jonas Brother. The Blackhawks shock the world and win on the road, and continue to win without Toews scoring goals. The Hurricanes dominate the two home games and then decide they want to win the series at home so they don’t show up on Sunday. That brings me to the weekly Hat Trick, or, the three things I am watching for this week.

1.) Who will show their ability to bounce back this week? The theme above was teams that had control and then lost it this weekend. I am not surprised about the Capitals losing three straight. As I have stated here before, the Penguins are the most resilient team left in the playoffs and continue to show that. I am very shocked, however, by the Canucks. This is a team that has held leads in every game in this series, but has only won 2 games. That, my friends, is what we call a bad trend. So who will show their ability to bounce back this week and force a Game 7? Sorry Boston fans, not you, you are done, so that brings me to the Ducks. Will they win this series? Probably not, but I just feel the miracle 8th seed Ducks have one more game in them and will give their home fans a show. Don’t forget that 6 out of 9 meetings this season between the Wings and Ducks have been decided by one goal (including Game 1, 2 and 3). I see another close game and Getzlaf willing his team to one more victory.

2.) Did Ovechkin vs. Crosby live up the hype? I will delve more into this series and its impact on the league later but, as the series comes closer to the end, I am looking to see if this superstar series actually lives up to the hype. I think it has so far. How can you not be excited about the league with Ovechkin vaulting his way to the top of the league’s playoff scoring with an amazing 7 goals in this series? Crosby hasn’t disappointed either, both scoring 5 goals and adding 3 assists in the series. I am very interested to see the discussions nationally about how this series impacted the league around the country.

3.) Who will win Capitals vs. Penguins Part 2? Not very often do the big clubs and the minor league teams match up in both the NHL and AHL playoffs. So, it is great to see which organization is better at their core. The Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins are scheduled for a Game 7 on Tuesday night. How they got there sounds pretty familiar. The Bears won the first two games, only to loose the next three, and then force a pivotal Game 7 at home with a 3-0 shutout of the Baby Pens on Sunday night. The first time they have been shutout all year. Should be a fun night at the Giant Center, and here’s to hoping the big clubs match them.