Day 5 Roundup

Oh, San Jose.

Every year prior to the playoffs we hear the same questions - Is San Jose finally going to have a successful playoff run? Will Joe Thornton show up? Can Patrick Marleau lead?

Well, thus far, no, no, and no.

The Ducks shocked the San Jose faithful last night, taking Game Two 3-2. Now the Ducks will head back home to SoCal with a commanding 2-0 advantage.

In a game that was eerily similar to Game One, the Sharks threw everything on net...only problem being shots from the perimeter with little or no traffic in front don't typically produce good results come springtime hockey.

If the Sharks think they are paying the price and driving the net then they are sadly mistaken. The only line that was willing to pay the price and drive the net yesterday was the Clowe-Pavelski-Michalek unit. Thornton and Marleau were no where to be seen...especially when the game was on the line.

Kudos to the Ducks. They were willing to pay the price to keep San Jose from getting to the net, killed off every Sharks' man-advantage, and received quality goaltending from Hiller.

Another disappointing early exit for the Sharks could be in the making...

Game Three for the Blues left them feeling just that...blue. Another fairly evenly played game, another win for the Canucks.

It came down to special teams. The Canucks went 3 for 5 on the power-play while the Blues went 0 for 6, including two 5 on 3 man-advantages.

Chalk this win up to the ineptitude of the Blues' special teams or the prowess of the 'Nucks special teams, whichever way you want to look at it...

In Raleigh, the Devils were able to take a 2-1 series advantage in thanks to a Travis Zajac overtime marker.

Despite the absence of captain Jamie Langenbrunner, the Devils played a strong, passionate, systematically sound game. Paul Martin (assist) and Zach Parise (2 assists) continued to be the catalysts on defense and offense, respectively, for the Devils, while Martin Brodeur put forth a consistent effort inbetween the pipes.

One of the biggest moments in the game came at the end of the first period. With the game tied at one apiece and the first period about to come to an end, Joe Corvo made a horrible pass while pressured by Brendan Shanahan, which landed right on the tape of the diminutive Brian Gionta. Gionta dangled both Ray Whitney and Cam Ward's pokecheck, then slid the puck neatly between Ward's legs.

It's these timely mistakes that can make or break a series...