The first victims

The 2006 NHL playoffs have now it`s first eliminated teams.

The defending champions, Tampa Bay eliminated by the Ottawa Senators 4 games to 1.
New-York Rangers swept by the New-Jersey Devils 4-0.

Still running:

San Jose leads Nashville 3-1.
Calgary-Anaheim tied 2-2.
Colorado leads Dallas 3-1.
Edmonton leads Detroit 3-2.
Buffalo-Philadelphia tied 2-2.
Montreal-Carolina tied 2-2.

Begin fit to play Game 5

Steve Begin announced to his coach that he recovered from his knee injury and is ready to play game 5. This should help Montreal bring more energy and intensity.

The series is locked up 2-2.

Patrick Roy 1 away from Memorial Cup berth.

Ex-goaltender superstar Patrick Roy now head coach of The Quebec Ramparts are possibly one win away from a berth in 2006 Memorial Cup held in Moncton. They lead their series 3-2.

Roy is at his first year and seems to put a lot of passion in his work, the machine seems to click and they could be competitive.

Wind of change?

The Carolina Hurricanes evened up the series 2-2 with a 3-2 win in Montreal.

The absence of Koivu seemed to take out the winds out of the team`s sails. Brind`Amour scored the game-winner halfway in the 3rd period. Game 5 in Raleigh. Game 6 in Montreal.
Neither team has won a home game, and by the looks of it, the series could tip again a couple more times. Should be exciting until the end.

The only downside is the inconsistent refereeing...too many high sticking penalties remained uncalled in the last 2 games, plus the controversy around the disallowed Carolina goal.

The conclusion should be as good as any soap on TV...
Who will win???

Koivu injuried

Montreal captain Saku Koivu was injuried to the left eye due to a high stick during game 3 of the series and will be sidelined for at least 2 weeks. Doctors ordered that he stays in hospital until the blood and swelling goes away before evaluating the extent of the damage to his eye.

It was a scary moment for his teammates to see him get up quickly bleeding from his eye.
Top that with a very questionnable no-call for it.

Game 4 is scheduled tonight in Montreal.

Game 3: Carolina 2 - Montreal 1 (OT)

The series spices up as the Carolina Hurricanes wins game 3 in overtime. During the game Montreal captain Saku Koivu was injured from a high stick to the eye and went directly to the hospital.

Montreal still leads the series 2-1.
Game 4 of the series will be in Montreal again.

He shoots he scores!

In the 2nd game of the series Michael Ryder broke the 5-5 tie in the 2nd overtime and gave the Montreal Canadiens a 2-0 lead in the series.

Next game is in Montreal.

In the other series, New-Jersey and Buffalo also lead their series 2-0.

Montreal 6 - Carolina 1

The Montreal Canadiens were everywhere on the ice and claims the first game 6-1 In Raleigh. Despite a quick Carolina goal coming at the 50th second of period one.

Montreal grinded and fought very well to score 2 goals before the break, then 2 more in second period. In the end Alex Kovalev scored 2 goals and Christobal Huet stood tall stopping 19 shots in second period. Montreal leads the series 1-0, Game 2 is in Raleigh again.

1 win
15 more to the ultimate prize!

Montreal - Carolina series begins.

Tonight the Montreal Canadiens enters the dance in the 2006 playoffs. Christobal Huet will face Martin Gerber for Carolina.

The afternoon games showed the New-Jersey Devils pound the New-York Rangers 6-1.
Meaningwhile in Dallas, the Colorado Avalanche storms the Dallas Stars 5-2 scoring at will on the power play and take a 1-0 lead in the best of 7 series.

Calgary, Detroit, Nashville and Ottawa all already lead their respective series 1-0.

The puck drops here...

NHL 2006 playoffs starts. Who will go past the 1st round?

Montreal is buzzing. Go Habs Go!

Montreal Canadiens wins 7th in a row.

Smells playoffs. Only a few games away from the playoffs and final spots are still not been decided. Montreal is now on a great streak securing their place with every win.

The last time Montreal won 7 games in a row was the night Saku Koivu played his 1st game back from cancer.