With the San Jose Sharks officially eliminating the Los Angeles Kings from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday night it ends what can only be called a disappointing season for the men in black. Prior to the start of the 2010-11 NHL season many experts were looking for the Kings to be this season’s breakout team. High hopes and even higher expectations were bestowed upon the Kings who were thought to be a Stanley Cup favorite early on. The Kings got out of the gate quickly, collecting a record of 9-3 with one overtime loss in October. The Kings followed that up with 5-7 record in November before adding another nine wins in December. While the Kings record looked good on paper, few people felt the Kings looked like a cohesive unit, even fewer felt they were a Stanley Cup team.

With the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs in full swing there have been a number of terrific storylines that have emerged. The Nashville Predators moved on to the second round for the first time in franchise history, the Vancouver Canucks are close to an epic failure in their series against the Chicago Blackhawks and there are goaltending controversies in Vancouver and with the Philadelphia Flyers (what else is new?). For the most part, the playoffs have been very dramatic as several series are headed to a seventh game; with a few others still a candidate to do the same. As the playoffs roll along each game gets more important, each game is more of a grind for the players and the injuries start to mount up, which brings into question the NHL’s puzzling scheduling. For example, the Montreal Canadiens and Boston

Ahh, the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A place where some players ‘bring it’, while others fall well short of the so-called “experts” expectations. Heading into the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs several reports were calling for Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne to have a huge playoff; others were a lot more realistic about his talent and the talents of the team in front of him. Rinne brought a career playoff record of 2-4 to go along with a marginal .911 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.68 into this years playoffs. Needless to say, with those kind of numbers it would be hard to suggest that Rinne was going to catch fire against an offensively explosive team like the Anaheim Ducks, yet there were still some reports out there that suggested Rinne would do exactly that. Through four playoff games

Heading into the 2011 version of the NHL Playoffs a number of intriguing series revealed themselves. Of course, if you favorite team is participating in the playoffs that’s always intriguing, but I am taking about series that transcend your usual alliances and have you dialed in just the same. For some, it was the Montreal Canadiens/Boston Bruins series, for others the Vancouver Canucks/Chicago Blackhawks series provides a number of interesting story lines that peaks your interest. Well, I got news for ya, thus far, there has been little “memorable” hockey in the playoffs, although the goaltending heroics from Canadiens netminder Carey Price and Buffalo Sabres stopper Ryan Miller were fairly compelling. When I think of Playoffs past, there always seems to be a series that captivates its audience immediately. It may be a series that comes out of nowhere, or

With the first night of NHL Playoff games in the books our attention will be on a number of games tonight as the 2011 NHL Playoffs continue to evolve. The most anticipated matchup of the night should be the Boston Bruins battle with the Montreal Canadiens, as it already encompasses a number of juicy regular season story lines and one of the most storied rivalries in all of hockey. Let’s face it folks, the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens have a hate on for each other like few other rivalries, partially based on an early season brawl between the two sides and of course that “little” incident involving Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara and Montreal forward Max Pacioretty. History tells us that Montreal holds a 24-8 advantage in playoff series against the Bruins, but with playoff hockey, anything is possible. The

With my Eastern Conference playoff predictions out of the way, it’s time to set my sights on the Western Conference. Parity is alive and well throughout the NHL, but nowhere is it more apparent in the Western Conference where the difference between fifth and tenth place was just five points. Looking at the four Western Conference matchups there is not much to choose between most of the teams, that said, a few favorites should emerge, with the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings garnering a lot of attention from poolies and fans alike. With all this in mind, let’s take a look at the first round matchups and how it should all pan out. (1) Vancouver Canucks Vs. (8) Chicago Blackhawks Given the fact that the Chicago Blackhawks have ended the Vancouver Canucks playoff drives in each of the past