Stanley Cup Playoffs Heating Up

Spring in Canada brings many things. The much needed break from the cold weather, warmer tempertures and of course, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where the NHL's best talent comes to the forefront and players prove their toughness and prove they have what it takes to survive the post-season marathon.

There have been numerous instances of the passion during this year's post-season. In the Boston - Montreal series, there have been back-to-back overtime games where both goalies, Carey Price on Montreal and Tim Thomas on Boston, have been sensational, playing a pivotal role in leading their respective teams to victory.

In game 3 of the series, which took place in Boston, both Montreal fans voiced their displeasure with Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, while Boston fans responded with heckling Canadiens captain Alexei Kovalev. The series has been quite physical as well and while Montreal was an early favorite, Boston has proved they won't go down without a fight.

Another series that has produced some great hockey has been the San Jose Sharks against the Calgary Flames. The first two games which took place in San Jose were split evenly, with the Miikka Kiprusoff and Evgeni Nabokov being sensational.

With their dominating play in game 2, San Jose headed into Calgary Sunday evening for game 3, looking to defeat the Flames on home ice. San Jose stormed out of the gates, with three goals in three 3:33. Down 3-0, everyone thought Calgary was out of the game. But with Dion Phaneuf and Owen Nolan leading the way and Curtis Joseph playing great in relief of Kiprusoff, Calgary stormed back with four unanswered goals, to put the hometown crowd in a frenzy. Game 4, which is slated to take place Tuesday in Calgary, should be just as exciting.

The Washington Capitals are taking on the Philadelphia Flyers, with Alexander Ovechkin making his post-season debut. He scored an amazing game-winning goal in game 1 which created near pandomodium in Washington. While Philadelphia may have won game 2 with Martin Biron getting the shut-out, Ovechkin and the Capitals are by no menas down and out and have the talent to go quite far this post-season.

The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild have continued their Northwest division battle and have brought the intensity and passion that they have played with during the regular season into the post-season. Both games 1 and 2 have gone to over-time with Minnesota and Colorado winning a game apiece. Game 3 will no doubt be a pivotal game to see which team advances to the next round.

The Detroit Red Wings have dominated the Nashville Predators in the first two games of their series, but Nashville has been competitive and with their youth, could present the Red Wings with a challenge. However, with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datzyuk as well as post-season veterans Dominik Hasek and Nicklas Lidstrom in the fold, Nashville will be hard-pressed to overcome the Red Wings.

The Pittsburgh Penguins dominated the regular season and they have continued that dominance against the Ottawa Senators. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are firing on all cylinders and Marc-Andre Fleury has been stellar in net. Ottawa has had unfortunate luck with injuries to Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher and Jason Spezza may be out for game three. That may prove costly to Ottawa's chances at making another run to the final.

The Dallas Stars have dominated the Anaheim Ducks in two games, but with Anaheim's talent, they cannot be discounted. The play of Dallas goalie Marty Turco has been sensational, keeping Anaheim's scoring limited in the first two games of the series. Anaheim got into penalty trouble in game 1and the Dallas offense proved to be too much in game 2.

The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers are continuing their storied rivalry, with the Rangers holding a 2-1 series lead heading into game 4. The Rangers won games 1 and 2 while New Jersey came out on top in game 3 with Patrik Elias scoring two goals. This series may be a favorite to go to seven games.

While the post-season is only just beginning, hockey fans have been treated to some thrilling games and numerous players have stepped up to prove themselves such as the San Jose Sharks' Ryane Clowe and Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Either way, the hockey will only grow more intense as the playoffs move forward.

This is what each team aspires to win each year.

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