Round Two Early Return

Since I really don't have one particular thing to write about, maybe just doing a synopsis of what's happened so far would suffice, huh??

-The schedule is all kinds of screwed up. Thanks to Dora the Explorer, the Sens/Sabres series had an extra day off, whereas there was one afternoon game on Saturday and no Hockey Night in Canada, which made many weep. Now, when there's a chance to get everyone on the same page, there's three games Monday Night. Crazy off-beat hippies.

-Speaking of the Sens/Sabres, there's almost such a thing as too much scoring. I like a nice fast-paced game as much as anyone, but when the defense on both sides were sloppy as all get out, it makes me want to puke. As a former defenseman, I was yelling at the screen and cursing out both team's defense for awful, awful plays. Maybe, they'll get their act together and actually play a complete game to see if it'll be high powered when everything is clicking.

-The Canes ravaged the Devils in a big way. Now, if they can duplicate that for Game Two, then it could be a long road for the Devils. Sadly, I don't think that's going to be the case. When Martin Brodeur scored three on himself, and the Devils give up 5 PPG, you really can't expect that to happen twice in a three day span.

-Will the Avs ever score again?? Ilya Bryzgalov has been amazing in net and showing that J-S Giguere should be looking through the Want-Ads while sitting on the bench. Amazing how a team with Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk, and Alex Tanguay can not have a goal in two games to start a series.

-It's really amazing that Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo haven't been on the scoresheet more often for the Sharks. That's not to say that they are sunk without them, it's really a compliment to their depth. However, even though Patrick Marleau is shouldering the load nicely, I think they'll need to get the best out of their top two guys in order to stay alive. Especially since Dwyane Roloson has been simply superb for the Oilers and once the Oilers get a lead, they tend to....let's say....trap their opponents with some defensive tactics.

We'll see if that long layoff hangover is over for the Devils and Sens' defense. I'm sure it is, but you can never be too sure, especially come playoff time. We've seen stranger things happen in the recent past, so I wouldn't count anything out or say anything is a sure thing as of yet.