NHL 2008 Playoffs: Stand and Applaud

The 2008 NHL Playoffs started out just as anyone could have hoped; except for Carolina Hurricanes fans, that is.  Though he's not the NHL's Golden Boy, Alexander Ovechkin is the league's most exciting player, and he proved it by leading The Washington Capitals in their late season playoff run that nearly every hockey fan was rooting for, mainly to see Ovechkin continue his trademark glass jump goal celebration through April.  As a Kings, fan, I was taking on the Caps as my 2008 playoff team to cheer for. 

But wait a minute, we also finally have Sidney Crosby and the Penguins with a legitimate chance to make a run at the Stanley Cup?  With Crosby sidelined for 6 weeks, Evgeni Malkin takes over and scores 39 points in 24 games, eventually earning him the nod for the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the league's MVP.  Where's the excitement for this story?  Unfortunately for the Pens, the Caps' story was just more enthralling at the time, even though the consensus was that Pittsburgh had a much better shot at competing for Lord Stanley's prize.  Moreover, these scenarios provided the possibility of the NHL's dream scenario: Crosby vs Ovechkin on the largest stage.  They had scheduled this matchup two or three times during the season to be exhibited on NBC's nationwide broadcast with meager results.  The games were exciting, but not quite what we all hoped for.  But now the possibility of this match-up in the postseason was just too intriguing not to talk about. 

Alas, it was not meant to be, as the Caps couldn't get past the eventual Eastern Conference finalists in the Philadelphia Flyers.  This could be looked at as a disappointment, but anyone who was fortunate enough to participate in this series in any way, even spectating, is better off from it.  And that was just the first round. 

The Ovechkin storyline aside, the first round of the playoffs were filled with interesting stories.

Conference Quarterfinals

The storied Montreal Canadiens were matched up with their long time rivals, the Boston Bruins, and up until this series it had been an absolute blowout of late; The Canadiens had won the past eleven straight match-ups, a staggering statistic.  Hockey analysts had a clear cut opinion prior to this series: Habs in 4 or 5.  Despite the history and rivalry intangibles, the Canadiens had just been too good recently, putting up ridiculous scoring numbers and boasting the best power play in the league.  However, there were a few that had a lingering feeling in the back of their minds that something crazy could happen in this series; and it almost did.  Boston pushed this series to a seventh game despite being down 3-1.  No one could have predicted that.  They lost game seven 5-1, but the renewed the faith of B's fans everywhere by killing the streak and going the distance with the Habs.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?