The NHL playoffs have gotten off to a roaring start after beginning on Tuesday and the Stanley Cup chase continues on Thursday as the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals start their series in DC as they try to make a run to the Stanley Cup finals.
The Rangers started off the lockout-shortened season slowly and after playing excellent at the end of the year while winning 10 of their last 14 games, the team went from the eighth spot in the Eastern conference to sixth, avoiding a matchup with the Penguins, who opened with a 5-0 win against the Islanders in game one. The Rangers and Caps are playing for the third straight season and the fourth time in the past five years and last season the two played a seven game series as the Rangers made a run to the conference finals, where they lost to the Devils.
The all-Canada series between the Canadiens and the Senators will get started in Montreal on Thursday, while the Anaheim Ducks and Red Wings will play game two after Detroit dropped Game 1. The Blues and Kings will also continue their series after an overtime contest in Game 1 that saw the Blues win. On Wednesday a number of series got started, with the Penguins, Bruins and Sharks all winning.
The Penguins looked dominant and it appears they will not have much trouble with the Islanders after winning Game 1 5-0 even without Sidney Crosby playing. The Sharks came back to defeat the Canucks, adding some trepidation to fans as Roberto Luongo was in net and couldn't get it done again.
The Boston Bruins took down the Maple Leafs 4-1 in Game 1 after a strong game from Tuukka Rask, who had 19 saves in the victory. Nathan Horton added the winning goal for Boston and the team has the city behind them after the marathon bombing attack and with a big win in game 1 the team showed that the postponed games from the previous week did not keep them down. The Maple Leafs are back in the playoffs for the first time in a number of years and will be looking to win at least one game while trying to keep things competitive.
