7:30 ET, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, Game 5 (NBC Sports Network)
Why can't I shake this feeling that the Penguins are most assuredly not dead and that they will, in fact, come back? There isn't much reason to think that way, teams very rarely come back from 0-3 holes in playoff series. The odds of doing so are incredibly long.
It's just hard not to get bad vibes after a team gives up 10 goals -- 10!!! -- in a playoff game, a close-out opportunity at home, no less. It's even easier to get behind when you consider the Penguins are, well, the Penguins and that they have blown lead after lead in this series.
Then there is the issue of Ilya Bryzgalov and the questions that arose in practice on Thursday when he left the ice after about 10 minutes. That's not something that's incredibly rare for him, but it raised questions, especially after it was reported that Bryzgalov was suffering from a hip injury and is a game-time decision for Game 5. This was completely disputed by the Flyers, so it's probably nothing.
Either way, there is still some concern over Bryzgalov even if injury is out of the equation. It has been hidden in the series because Marc-Andre Fleury has been as bad or even worse, but Bryzgalov has, well .. . underwhelmed significantly.
Oh, and there is the Daily News Sidney Crosby cover jinx. You can never forget a jinx.
So yes, there are seeds planted in mine and others' brains that the Penguins might just pull this thing off. But they've hardly been a model team so far in the playoffs either. The defense? Woe, the defense. Fleury hasn't been good in the series at all but the defense has done him no favors.
The saving grace for the Flyers to nip this one in the bud now and just punch their second-round ticket? The game is in Pittsburgh. If the Penguins are the tenants at Consol Energy Center, the Flyers are the landlords. There have been eight meetings between the two teams in the building so far and Philly has taken seven of them.
This series is still firmly in the Flyers' control and the odds say they're still going to take it, so they'd be best off finding that finishing touch now before the Penguins get any more confidence building.
8 ET, Detroit at Nashville, Game 5 (CNBC)
This series, like the Pens-Flyers one, is at the close-out stage. But unlike that series, I don't get much of a feeling it's still hanging in the balance. The Predators' hold on the series doesn't seem as tenuous -- to use that word loosely -- as the Flyers'.
The reason? They have a goaltender who is playing at an elite level and has done so on the playoff stage in the past as well. Pekka Rinne is the biggest reason why the Predators are now presented with the chance to advance in Game 5, essentially stealing the two games in Detroit for the Preds.
But to count out the Red Wings would obviously be at one's own peril. They have more experience than any organization out there in the playoffs and it's hard to find a spot they haven't been in. It was just last postseason that they nearly overcame an 0-3 hole to the Sharks in the playoffs, losing in Game 7.
It just all comes back to being able to solve the Rinne riddle.
Maybe the answer is to shoot ... less? In the three losses the Wings forced Rinne to save 35 shots or more. In the one win? Well Rinne only had 17 saves. You do hear goaltenders talking about wanting to face a lot more shots in a game, it keeps them sharper and into the game. Of course I'm not going to suggest the Wings don't keep firing on the net, however it might be something worth watching.
Or, more likely, it was a total coincidence. It's not making Mike Babcock rethink his team's strategy.
"I don't think we can tell our guys to stop shooting," Babcock said. "We have to keep getting to the net as hard we as can."
Like Dan Fouts in The Waterboy said, "it [could be] the last game of the year, can't hold anything back now."
Daily miscellany
- Best of Thursday
- Would the Canucks consider trading Roberto Luongo and, if so, to the Maple Leafs?? (Globe & Mail)
- Predators forward and pest Jordin Tootoo has been a healthy scratch for all but one playoff game so far and is releasing his frustration over it. (Tennesseean)
- Once again, the Philadelphia Daily News is getting flak for jinxing the Flyers. (Philly.com)
- The Capitals won on Thursday so it's not as big of a conversation, but Alex Ovechkin only played 1:58 in the third period in Game 4. (NHL.com)
- Dustin Byfuglien's case is going to a jury trial. (Winnipeg Free Press)
- The Calder Trophy finalists will be announced today. (Kukla's Korner)
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