WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Like I said in a post a couple weeks ago about the Capitals, I am not a huge hockey fan. But this Capitals-Rangers series has been captivating. Wednesday night, the Capitals won, 2-1, to avoid elimination and force a Game 7. On Saturday, I almost watched Game 4 in its entirety, and it was pretty exciting. The Capitals won, 3-2. Of course, every Washington game has been crazy this postseason because all but one of the 13 games it has played has come down to one goal. The Rangers won Game 1, 3-1. Otherwise, it has been tight all series. Monday night in Game 5, with the series tied at 2, the Capitals were up 2-1. With 6.6 seconds left, the Rangers tied the game and then won in overtime. If the Capitals had held on there, maybe they would have already won the series. Game 7 is Saturday at 7:30 on NBC Sports Network.
The winner of the series will face the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference finals. In the Western Conference, the finals will be between the Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings.
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NBA PLAYOFFS
Speaking of professional playoffs, the marathon that is the NBA Playoffs is also ongoing. The No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs, have already vanquished their foe, No. 8 seed Utah Jazz, in four quick games. The No. 2 seed Oklahoma City Thunder did the same against the defending champion No. 7 seed Dallas Mavericks. In the Eastern Conference, the No. 2 seed Miami Heat downed the No. 7 seed New York Knicks in five games, and the No. 3 seed Indiana Pacers did the same to the No. 6 seed Orlando Magic.
In the Western Conference, the two other first-round series still need to be decided. The No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers are up 3-2 on the No. 6 seed Denver Nuggets and play Game 6 of that series tonight in Denver. The No. 4 seed Memphis Grizzlies avoided elimination Wednesday night be beating the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Clippers. L.A. leads the series 3-2 and Game 6 is Friday night in L.A. In the Eastern Conference, the two series that still need winners are the No. 4 seed Atlanta Hawks vs. the No. 5 seed Boston Celtics. Boston is up 3-2 and the teams play Game 6 of that series tonight in Beantown. And finally, the No. 8 seed Philadelphia 76ers are trying to knock off the No. 1 seed Chicago Bulls. The Sixers lead the series 3-2 and play Game 6 tonight in Philly. The Bulls lost star point guard Derrick Rose in Game 1 to a torn ACL and have also been playing he past couple games without Joakim Noah. This has made things very tough on the Bulls, who have a great defense but rely a lot on Rose's offense to win games.
One of the more interesting first-round series to me has been the Grizzlies-Clippers matchup. The Clippers are a perennially bad team but experienced a resurgence this season with Chris Paul running the point and teaming up with the electrifying Blake Griffin. They are a fun team to watch. And my friend at work, Matt Lutey, is from Memphis and likes the Grizzlies so that has made it cool, too. In Game 1 in Memphis, where the Grizzlies are very good, the Clippers made a 24-point fourth-quarter comeback. If it hadn't been for that, the series could very well be 3-2 in favor of Memphis right now.
Like I said in a post a couple weeks ago about the Capitals, I am not a huge hockey fan. But this Capitals-Rangers series has been captivating. Wednesday night, the Capitals won, 2-1, to avoid elimination and force a Game 7. On Saturday, I almost watched Game 4 in its entirety, and it was pretty exciting. The Capitals won, 3-2. Of course, every Washington game has been crazy this postseason because all but one of the 13 games it has played has come down to one goal. The Rangers won Game 1, 3-1. Otherwise, it has been tight all series. Monday night in Game 5, with the series tied at 2, the Capitals were up 2-1. With 6.6 seconds left, the Rangers tied the game and then won in overtime. If the Capitals had held on there, maybe they would have already won the series. Game 7 is Saturday at 7:30 on NBC Sports Network.
The winner of the series will face the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference finals. In the Western Conference, the finals will be between the Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings.
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NBA PLAYOFFS
Speaking of professional playoffs, the marathon that is the NBA Playoffs is also ongoing. The No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs, have already vanquished their foe, No. 8 seed Utah Jazz, in four quick games. The No. 2 seed Oklahoma City Thunder did the same against the defending champion No. 7 seed Dallas Mavericks. In the Eastern Conference, the No. 2 seed Miami Heat downed the No. 7 seed New York Knicks in five games, and the No. 3 seed Indiana Pacers did the same to the No. 6 seed Orlando Magic.
In the Western Conference, the two other first-round series still need to be decided. The No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers are up 3-2 on the No. 6 seed Denver Nuggets and play Game 6 of that series tonight in Denver. The No. 4 seed Memphis Grizzlies avoided elimination Wednesday night be beating the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Clippers. L.A. leads the series 3-2 and Game 6 is Friday night in L.A. In the Eastern Conference, the two series that still need winners are the No. 4 seed Atlanta Hawks vs. the No. 5 seed Boston Celtics. Boston is up 3-2 and the teams play Game 6 of that series tonight in Beantown. And finally, the No. 8 seed Philadelphia 76ers are trying to knock off the No. 1 seed Chicago Bulls. The Sixers lead the series 3-2 and play Game 6 tonight in Philly. The Bulls lost star point guard Derrick Rose in Game 1 to a torn ACL and have also been playing he past couple games without Joakim Noah. This has made things very tough on the Bulls, who have a great defense but rely a lot on Rose's offense to win games.
One of the more interesting first-round series to me has been the Grizzlies-Clippers matchup. The Clippers are a perennially bad team but experienced a resurgence this season with Chris Paul running the point and teaming up with the electrifying Blake Griffin. They are a fun team to watch. And my friend at work, Matt Lutey, is from Memphis and likes the Grizzlies so that has made it cool, too. In Game 1 in Memphis, where the Grizzlies are very good, the Clippers made a 24-point fourth-quarter comeback. If it hadn't been for that, the series could very well be 3-2 in favor of Memphis right now.
Rangers like to play with their backs up against the wall. Like I've said before, home ice only matters in Game 7. LET'S GO RANGERS!
ReplyDeleteTrue and like Nate has said, the Caps have shown not to be great in these situations. Maybe they cast out their demons though at the end of that Bruins' series.
ReplyDeleteThat's typical of the Washington Capitals (from what I understand). Win a huge game (or series) which makes you think the monkey is off their back and then BAM! Lose a heartbreaker (like Game 5) that makes you question your fanhood.
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