It was a dirty hit, plain and simple.

Except it wasn't. The only Canadien who said it was a dirty hit was Pacioretty himself. Even a couple of Canadiens players blamed the poor design system of having the divider open like that in between the benches and that the Bell Centre should get rid of them.

Chara's a good player, but lets be honest, he's not smart enough to time the hit (while Pacioretty was off balance and leaning towards the bench), check him, and slam his head in the divider all within the matter of a second. He only pushed him in the head after Pacioretty had already slammed into the divider.

Keep being a homer!

The Bruins won and they scored on the powerplay. Hell must be frozen over.

So much for making a statement, Habs.

The Bruins sure do like giving up 3-0 leads, don't they?

Yeah...

Poor Eastern Conference. Not a chance in hell at winning this year.

Ducks clinch . That makes up for the Angels losing today.

Who?

Let's go Islanders!

Way to get momentum after tying the game.

ISLANDERS!!

The East is set.

1. Capitals vs. 8. Rangers
2. Flyers vs. 7. Sabres
3. Bruins vs. 6. Canadiens
4. Penguins vs. 5. Lightning

As for the West.

1. Canucks vs.

And that's about it.

Fuck Minnesota Duluth.

Can't win in a shootout, though. Has to be in regulation or OT.

West almost set...

1. Vancouver vs. 8. Chicago/Dallas
2. San Jose vs. 7. Los Angeles
3. Detroit vs. 6. Phoenix
4. Anaheim vs. 5. Nashville

I'm glad we avoided a potential Phoenix/Nashville playoff matchup. That would've been horribly boring and also probably the lowest attended playoff series in history.

Maybe I'll finally be able to see the Wings in Phx after all!

I think the Canucks are eager to get revenge. The Hawks aren't the same team they were last year.

My predictions:

Vancouver in 6
San Jose in 6
Detroit in 7
Anaheim in 6

Washington in 5
Philly in 6
Montreal in 7
Pittsburgh in 6

Vancouver over Anaheim in 6
San Jose over Detroit in 7

Washington over Montreal in 6
Philly over Pittsburgh in 5

Vancouver over San Jose in 6
Washington over Philly in 6

Vancouver over Washington in 7

I will tell you one thing. If Detroit plays San Jose again... They will not lose.

EAST

1. Capitals vs. 8. Rangers - Capitals in 5
2. Flyers vs. 7. Sabres - Sabres in 7
3. Bruins vs. 6. Canadiens - Bruins in 6
4. Penguins vs. 5. Lightning - Penguins in 6

1. Capitals vs. 7. Sabres - Capitals in 6
3. Bruins vs. 4. Penguins - Bruins in 6

1. Capitals vs. 3. Bruins - Bruins in 6

WEST

1. Canucks vs. 8. Blackhawks - Canucks in 5
2. Sharks vs. 7. Kings - Sharks in 6
3. Red Wings vs. 6. Coyotes - Red Wings in 5
4. Ducks vs. 5. Predators - Predators in 7

1. Canucks vs. 5. Predators - Canucks in 6
2. Sharks vs. 3. Red Wings - Red Wings in 6

1. Canucks vs. 3. Red Wings - Red Wings in 6

Stanley Cup Finals

3. Red Wings. vs. 3. Bruins - Bruins in 7


Shut up, I can dream if I want to.

I'd accept those predictions.

I like wins.

Luongo's on his game. I'm sure the lack of Byfuglien is helping.

Bruins play very well = No goals/Loss
Montreal plays mediocre at best = 1 shit goal (last one)/Win

The Bruins and the Sharks are the only two teams that could've "pulled off" a game like this. I can't remember the last time a goalie bailed out his team like that in the playoffs.

On the bright side, if both teams continue to play like they did the Bruins will win easily. This loss doesn't surprise me, Price's performance (to a certain extent) didn't surprise me, but Montreal's overall effort did. Outside of Price they were next to awful. Price however might have gave his best effort ever tonight.

If the Bruins can play with the same effort (and maybe score a goal or two) they should win Game 2 and at this point they pretty much have to.

In a surprising turn of events, the Penguins decided NOT to play hockey yesterday. A bold decision that ended up costing them 5-1.

In a related story, Marc-Andre Fleury thought about playing hockey but quickly decided against it.