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NHL Playoff Observations -- Opening Night

Just a few things that caught my eye ...

  • Is Ilya Bryzgalov really afraid of bears? Or is it penguins? Both phobias are bizarre but seemingly applicable in that wobbly first period.
  • Did Alain Vignault get punk'd by Daniel Sedin's papa? Or was it the Canadian media? And was Leafs' general manager Brian Burke as bellicose about it as he was when a certain Toronto reporter called up James Reimer's mama last November? Maybe there'll be a another full-page apology ...
  • Eighteen games. That's the length of Pascal Dupuis' current scoring streak. Don't beat yourself up for not putting him on your postseason roster -- I didn't realize he was that hot, either. 
  • I hate to admit this but I agree with CBC's Don Cherry -- Pekka Rinne does have the best glove hand in the NHL. Maybe the world. Wow.
  • A lot of eyebrows were raised when the Preds sent a first rounder to the Sabres for Paul Gaustad. But how smart does that trade look after Game 1? Impressive.
  • Nice night for rookies. Brayden Schenn had a three-point night and scored his first playoff goal goal. Gabriel Bourque scored two, including the game winner over the fabled Wings. 
  • NHL Rule 83: Off-side -- Players of the attacking team must not precede the puck into the attacking zone. I wonder how long we'll be reflecting on that call if Pennsylvania washes orange and black after round one.
  • Ryan Kesler really should send a pair of RK17 Illegal Curves to the Kings' room for Jonathan Quick. It'd the least he could do after after that first-period hit-and-run ... I mean goal. 
  • Godspeed, Darren Helm. Tendon surgery ends his year; hopefully it doesn't end his career. I still remember the words uttered by Mike Modano after a similar incident: "...[my doc] is concerned not just about me playing hockey again but about my quality of life." Yikes.
  • Some things just go together. Like peanut butter and jelly, rock and roll, and Vancouver and public drinking. I wonder what the prop is for the latter breaking out. Game 1 or 2? But I digress ...