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NHL Playoff Observations: And then there were eight

Just a few things that caught my eye:

  • Alexander Ovechkin has seen the future and it's called Auston Matthews.
  • Jake Allen vs. Pekka Rinne. Neither one was reliable in the regular season. Which one cracks first?

  • Best story of the postseason so far? Clarke MacArthur. He had sat out 156 regular-season games over the last two years because of a concussion and had moved to Florida to prep for retirement. Now, he's the toast of Canada's capital.
  • Speaking of Auston Matthews -- he was mad after Sunday's loss. So were the rest of the Leafs. That's a GREAT sign for the future. They hate to lose.
  • The Caps are good, but the baby Buds took them to OT five games out of six. They're not as good as their President's Trophy indicates, although they're not as tight as they looked through six games against the Leafs.
  • Godspeed, Eric Staal. I hope we haven't seen the last of him. Staal was helped off the ice the same way Clarke MacArthur was when he had his bell rung in training camp. Ouch.
  • I'm pretty sure there were effigies of Marc Bergevin being burned Sunday in Montreal. And P.K. Subban was smiling in Nashville.
  • Speaking of Subban, he and Mattias Ekholm were perhaps the best shutdown pairing of the first round. Yes, Pernell Karl plays defense.
  • Erik Karlsson playing on multiple hairline fractures in his left heel. Pretty soon, Don Cherry will be holding him up as the Swedish Bobby Baun. Tough as nails.
  • Auston Matthew's hands are sick -- just sick.
  • Connor McDavid vs. Ryan Kesler. Number 97 is going to get a beard burn from that nasty Duck.
  • Jake Gardiner became a man against the Caps. I have a whole new impression of the guy. He has a brain!