On Frozen Blog

A double-edged sword for hockey fans last night: all four playoff games started between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. EST. On one hand, this gives time for make-up sleep after the marathon of Opening Night. On the other, it was hard to keep an eye on all four games at once, and when they were over, there was no West Coast game to watch for mad playoff double-header action.

• Atlanta made a mental error late against the Rangers. With the Thrashers’ goalie pulled, the Rangers’ Thomas Pock was called for a holding the stick penalty. Instead of immediately giving the puck to the Rangers to maximize the time they would have a 6 on 4 power play, the Thrashers toodled around for 15 more seconds or so. It’s difficult to say if this would have changed the way the rest of the game went down, but it was an opportunity that the Thrash passed up.
• Goaltending did cost the Lightning against the Devils, but not in the way you’d think. Holmqvist’s poor decision to play the puck late seals the game for New Jersey, wasting an excellent effort from Vinny LeCavalier, who may be the best player in hockey right now.
• Speaking of good players, Parise impresses me every game I watch him.
• Hockey writers everywhere are going to sue Pavel Datsyuk for ruining some of our best post-season jokes.
• Calgary’s road woes continue. It’s difficult for me to say how much of the Red Wings’ win was Detroit playing well versus Calgary continuing its ineptitude on visiting ice.
• Nothing surprising in the Islanders/Sabres contest (including seeing Brendan Witt in the penalty box for a costly minor penalty), and UFA-to-be center Chris Drury continued his post-season ways with two scores. The Islanders look out-matched, but word is Ricky DiPietro will be manning the pipes in game 2. Couldn’t hurt, at this point.
• I enjoyed Ken Hitchcock’s visit to the Versus set. Mercifully free of bombast and bluster, he stuck to what he does best — teach hockey. None of the insights were revolutionary, but it’s always nice to see the X’s and O’s of hockey being discussed.

Two tense games that went down to the final few minutes, and a couple of washes. Not quite as grueling as the night previous, but some good action nonetheless.