First impressions

NHL's opening round reveals an MVP candidate

After a nearly a week of playoff hockey, one in which the defending Stanley Cup champions fell into a 3-0 series hole, SI.com spoke with Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber about each of the first-round playoff series.

SI.com: You're covering the Stars-Oilers series, so we’ll begin there, too. How is it that Dallas found itself down 2-1 after three games?

Farber: Soft goals. Marty Turco allowed a soft short-handed goal by Ryan Smyth in Game 1, and he gave up the game-winner shortly thereafter. In Game 3 Turco gave up a soft goal to Fernando Pisani, who was coming down the off-wing and scored a weak five-hole goal that changed the momentum of the game. The impact of a soft goal can be devastating, and certainly has hurt Dallas.

SI.com: After having covered the first few games of that series, what is it that you’ve found most interesting?

Farber: Turco is the most interesting thing so far. He had a historic regular season for a modern goaltender and this was his first playoff series. The other thing is the fan support in Edmonton. That rink during the playoffs is Chicago Stadium loud, far louder than it was in Edmonton when the Oilers were winning their Stanley Cups. Bob Gainey told me after the game that he'd never been to a rave, but that's how he'd imagine it would sound.

I think the Stars have enough talent, and with Derian Hatcher coming back, that at some point they'll regain control of the series. But the Edmonton players seem to grow two inches and gain 20 pounds when they play at Skyreach Centre.

SI.com: While we're on the subject of upset bids, let's move to the Detroit-Anaheim matchup. You've always been interested in goaltending; what are your thoughts on Curtis Joseph? How much of that series comes down to goaltending in the Detroit end?

Farber: One untimely goal a game isn't going to do it against the Ducks and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who isn't just hot, he's outstanding. The credit for his development should go to Francois Allaire, who has changed Giguere's posture from being bent over to a little more upright. This means that his first move was no longer automatically into the butterfly, that he stands up a little longer, which allows him to move better laterally. Giguere now also keeps his glove hand higher than he did with when he was with Hartford and Calgary.

SI.com: Are there any first-round MVP candidates not named J.S. Giguere?

Farber: You have to look at how well Anaheim's Steve Rucchin and Keith Carney have done against the Sergei Fedorov and his line, but the short answer is no.

SI.com: How much trouble are the Canucks in? Or are we just catching that series in the midst of its natural ebb and flow?

No, this is a real danger here for Vancouver, notably that it remains a one-line team and that one line has not produced. This situation isn't shocking, considering that against Detroit in the first round last season the line of Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison combined for three goals in six games. This is a danger sign. It's nice to see the Sedins producing, but they're not dangerous. Vancouver needs scoring from its top line and it hasn't gotten that yet.

Still, there’s lots of hockey left. Neither Chris Osgood nor Dan Cloutier has been superb yet, and things can go either way. But Vancouver is going down if its first line doesn't wake up.

SI.com: We haven't yet addressed the Avalanche and Wild. Has the momentum shifted for good in that series?

Farber: The talent gap is pronounced. Everyone loves Minnesota's speed, its defensive positioning, its discipline and for the most part its goaltending, but when you get down to it, the team is Marian Gaborik and 17 guys named Wes Walz. Colorado has a little more of everything, except on the third and fourth lines, although Dan Hinote has produced in this series. The Wild need to grab a lead early and do what they do best, counterattack.

SI.com: We'll move to what seems to be a fait accompli in the Eastern Conference. Did the Bruins have a chance in their series against the Devils?

Farber: The one chance they had was a stellar performance from Joe Thornton and for New Jersey to go into one of its goal-scoring funks. John Madden and Scott Stevens have done a superb job on Thornton and Martin Brodeur has been airtight. You can envision certain scenarios in which a team might mount a comeback, such as Detroit against the Ducks, but given the way New Jersey plays, it seems unthinkable that the Bruins could become the third team to come back from 3-0 series deficit.

SI.com: Is Toronto-Philadelphia the most compelling series in the East at this point?

Farber: Yeah, it is. The Maple Leafs are like the knight from Monty Python; every setback is merely a flesh wound in Toronto. Everyone's banged up, guys are into the lineup and then out of the lineup, and they still simply find a way to do it. The wellspring of leadership and grit on this team is astounding. The Maple Leafs are the original no-excuses team, even if they do tend do complain. The Flyers are every bit as tough, but haven't had the goaltender that Roman Cechmanek's regular season numbers suggest he's capable of being.

This series is going a long way. Philadelphia has shown it has an appetite for the playoffs now, and depending on the health of Toronto, no one's going to run away in a game.

SI.com: Would you consider the Islanders and Senators series, then, to be the least compelling?

Farber: Not really. That was a pretty good game Monday night. Ottawa has more talent, and players such as Marian Hossa no longer seem tentative in the cauldron of playoff hockey. Garth Snow has been better than advertised in the Islanders’ goal, but New York needs to generate more against Patrick Lalime. One of the dominant players in the series has been Zdeno Chara, whose size and modest but growing offensive gifts have been impressive.

Ottawa should get control of the series, but will probably go six games.

SI.com: Is the clock ticking on Tampa Bay's playoff run?

Farber: Olaf Kolzig has won the battle of the goalies so far, and Washington's veteran firepower has been more than Nikolai Khabibulin has been able to handle. The inconsistent Capitals have been led by Jaromir Jagr, whose wrist is still healing from the break a month ago and he should be even better as he gets more comfortable. Tampa Bay does not have enough on the back end to take the skilled Washington forwards out of their game, and thus far the Lightning have not been able to generate enough to expose Kolzig.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com.

 

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