Sens    5 OT

CBJ      4

What a game....what a game.... what a game!!! The Sens and Jackets kicked off the eastern playoffs with a game that should be a template for all playoff games. They traded chances....they traded saves...they traded shots, hits, and just about everything else but their wives and STILL needed overtime to determine a victor!!! This game was as even as a game could be played from every aspect and it only seemed fitting that it should end in a tie....but these are the playoffs and someone had to lose! Their really is nothing to take away from this game other than neither team deserved to lose and neither team needs to do a thing to improve. This series appears to be destined to go long and will likely hinge on which goalie(s) make the big save at the right time. As it stands now the Sens grab an early advantage up 1-0

Isles    4

Canes  1

Goaltending, goaltending, goaltending!!! I have been preaching the difference between teams that get strong goaltending over teams that don't for years and here is another example. You look at the game totals and see Carolina with a slim 31-28 advantage in shots on goal and immediately think this was a close game. A deeper dive into the numbers reveals a much different story however as this game should have been over after the second period. Carolina has been very quietly a top 5 offense in the league this season and may have actually slid into the top 3 by seasons end but despite putting 25 shots on goal through 2 periods could only muster a 1-1 draw heading for the third. This would ultimately decide the game as you can only keep a team like the Isles down for so long and when the third began it was a different team that took the ice. The Isles completely flipped the rink and 16 shots and 3 goals later they had stolen home ice....Canes look to salvage a game at home trailing 1-0

Caps     2

Leafs    4

GM Linke headed into this series realizing that a match-up with the Presidents Trophy winner was not going to be easy and calling a spade a spade does not have the horses in the barn to stay with Toronto. The one thing Washington does have is a tried and tested cup winning goalie in MAF and for them to have any shot at stealing a game or two he will need to be on point. This game started with a 4-0 lead for Toronto and MAF pulled.....enough said! The one good thing to come from this game from a Washington standpoint is they didn't quit and will hope to ride that into game 2 trailing 1-0.

Bruins   7

Habs     2

 Ummmmmm.....pardon? WTF was that ? 23-18 shots on goal? That was the first period.....not the game! On top of that the team with 23 shots in the period trailed 4-1 .....did I mention WTF???? Did I mention earlier something about goaltending? In all seriousness there is lots to like here for both teams despite the lopsided scoresheet. For the Bruins their scorers were sharp, the PP clicked, and they got a road win! For the Habs, they played well, got lots of shots, and likely deserved more for their efforts so assuming we see a similar game in game 2 we should see a much closer game. After this tilted scoreboard it will be interesting to see if Hart gets the nod for game 2. Bruins lead 1-0