The New Jersey Devils defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 Tuesday to force game seven in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. Travis Zajac scored the overtime winner for the Devils.
But the question I have is where was Panthers’ goaltender Jose Theodore and how serious is his injury?
After Theodore was brilliant in game five of the series Saturday afternoon, in making thirty saves, he did not take part in Tuesday’s morning skate in New Jersey.
The injury is very puzzling to me because Theodore was excellent in the last game and showed no signs whatsoever of any particular ailment.
Right now all the Panthers are saying is that he has an undisclosed injury. I’m sorry. I know it’s playoff time, but hockey fans simply deserve more information. How did Theodore get hurt between Saturday and Tuesday? Did he get an injury while possibly being reacquainted with Paris Hilton? Probably not, but until the Panthers supply us with all the information, it’s a little fun to speculate.
For the fifth consecutive time in their Western Conference Quarterfinal series, the Phoenix Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks went into overtime.
On Saturday night, it was Jonathan Toews’s turn to deliver overtime magic. When Toews scored at 2:44 of the opening overtime period, he kept the Blackhawks alive. Chicago currently trails Phoenix 3-2 in the Western Conference Quarterfinal with game six slated for Monday.
In other playoff action, the Saint Louis Blues became the second team to advance to round two. The Blues scored three times in the final ten minutes to beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 to win the series 4-1.
In the East, there were a pair of shutouts. Jose Theodore made 30 saves as the New Jersey Devils beat the Florida Panthers 3-0 and Craig Anderson made 41 saves as the Ottawa Senators beat the New York Rangers 2-0. Both the Senators and Panthers are up 3-2 in their respective series.
Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals took a 3-2 series lead on the Boston Bruins with an overtime winner by Troy Brouwer.
It’s amazing. The Los Angeles Kings have all of a sudden become Alberta’s team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Almost hated by Edmonton Oiler fans 20 years ago because they acquired their superstar Wayne Gretzky, the Kings are having a strong following at the present time in Alberta by Oilers and Flames fans that just don’t want to see the Vancouver Canucks go far.
Sunday night at Rogers Arena, the President’s Trophy winning Canucks will try to prevent elimination as they will take on a Los Angeles Kings team up 3-1 in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Game five can be seen Sunday night at 6pm on CBC.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching:
Saturday & Sunday–NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game 5 & 6–Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins–NBC–1pm–With the series tied 2-2, the Capitals and Bruins will now play an abbreviated best-of-three to determine who goes on to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Playing back-to-back games is difficult in the regular season, and I can’t imagine what it is like come playoff time where the mental intensity can be emotionally draining. Brian Rolston, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the New York Islanders, leads the Bruins in playoff scoring along with three points in four games.
Due to some technical difficulties, this week’s episode of 15 Minutes of Fame is coming at you a day later than usual, but it’s better late than never right?
This week, we’re breaking down some of the biggest moves of the NHL Free Agent season, including the handful made by the Oilers and Panthers, and we look at the NBA lockout. In the GABBYs: The LA Dodgers, NY Mets Grand Slams, Cliff Lee shutouts, Major League steroids, and more!
Tomas Fleischmann (Bridget Samuels, Wikimedia Commons)
The Florida Panthers spent a significant amount of money on Friday.
They signed Tomas Fleischmann from Colorado, Ed Jovanovski from Phoenix, Scottie Upshall from Columbus and Jose Theodore from Minnesota.
Fleischmann spent half the season last year in Washington before being traded to Colorado for defenceman Scott Hannan in 2010-11. The Czech Republic native, who had 12 goals, and 19 assists in 2010-11, signed a four year deal worth $18 million.
Jovanovski, signed a four year deal worth $16.5 million. The former Canadian Olympic Gold medallist returns to Florida where he started his career in 1995. Jovanovski had five goals and nine assists last year.
Upshall, from Fort McMurray, Alberta, shared his time last year with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Phoenix Coyotes, being traded to Columbus with Sami Lepisto for Rostislav Klesla and Dane Byers at the trade deadline. Upshall, who had a career high 22 goals in 2011, signed a four year deal worth $14 million.
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