Oops! They Did It Again – Montreal Wins

First it was the President’s Trophy winners. Now, they knock out the Stanley Cup champions. What are the Canadiens drinking? Someone obviously forgot to tell them that they were supposed to lose in the first round in five games. Those betting on the Canadiens in the first two rounds made a killing.

Now, the Canadiens will face either Boston or Philadelphia in the conference finals. Both teams are grittier, but less talented than the two opponents that Montreal has knocked out. Overcoming the physical play in the next round will not be easy for the smaller Canadiens, but if they can do it, they will be on their way to the Stanley Cup finals. What a story.

Lucky Number Seven

There is a chance for history to be made on Friday. The Philadelphia Flyers can become only the third NHL team in history to overcome a three game deficit in the playoffs to win the series. This will be a highly unlikely comeback in a series that looked like it will end with a sweep. Boston is the NHL online betting favorite going into the game, but so were the Penguins. The truth is, anything can happen in a game seven. The fate of the entire season rests on a 60 minute or so performance and some luck. This is not a game to miss.

International Tournament Injuries And The NHL

Steven Stamkos may have suffered a concussion at the IIHF World Hockey Championship tournament. This, once again, brings us back to international competitions and NHL contracts discussion. As has been debated numerous times, the NHL feels that allowing players to participate in international competitions raises their chances of getting injured in games that are not part of their multi-million dollar contracts. Even with injury insurance, the NHL team risks losing a leading star player for the duration of the injury. The IIHF tournament is less of a problem because it takes place at the end of the NHL season, where only players of knocked out teams will participate. However, the Olympic tournament is the real concern, where a major injury can sideline a star player for the remainder of the season. It is still a while to the next winter Olympics, but the debate will continue.