And it’ll be a huge four-game blockbuster too.

The 2009 NHL Playoffs continue with a four-game extravaganza you shouldn’t miss. Unless of course you’re not Canadian.

The Boston Bruins, after securing the overall no.1 seed in the Eastern Conference, will begin their road for the Stanley Cup when they take on the Montreal Canadiens. Boston comes into the series with an 8-2 run that got them within a point of winning the President’s Cup. Tim Thomas has excelled all year, and the outstanding depth at both offense and defense has changed the Bruins from being a mediocre team to a club that seem destined to win it all this year.

Although the Bruins may not be used to such high expectations, they shouldn’t really have too much trouble against the Montreal Canadiens.

In the West, we have Game 1 of the best of seven series between the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks. Four teams in the West are selected to make the playoffs every year since the lockout and the Sharks and Ducks always seem to occupy two of the spots.

And yet, this will only mark the first time that the two teams from the state of California will meet in a playoff series. Unfortunately for the Anaheim Ducks, this may be a rather quick series as the Sharks have the Ducks trumped on just about every statistical category.

We also have the defending champions Detroit Red Wings…

Yes, the NHL still holds its annual playoff tournament.

And while most of us would rather keep our eyes glued on the NBA’s postseason wars, the 2009 NHL Playoffs still got underway and our friends from SPORTSBETTING.COM wasted no time in milking from it.

The puck dropped on the NHL postseason on Wednesday and as it stands, the balance of power lies in the West with the defending champions Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks listed as the odds-on favorites at SPORTSBETTING.COM to take the Stanley Cup at +300. Boston has the best odds of the Eastern Conference teams at +500.

The defending champions will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets first. A threat to repeat as champs, the Detroit Red Wings had a successful season accumulating 51 wins, 21 losses and 10 OT losses for 112 points but thanks to some shoddy goal tending, went 3-7 in their final 10 regular season games. Chris Osgood, who finished the season with a 3.09 GAA and a .887 save percentage, is expected to start for Detroit.

In stark contrast, the Wings will be up against a good, albeit young, goalie Steve Mason (33-20-7, 2.29 GAA, .916 save percentage and 10 shutouts) and the Columbus Blue Jackets, who finished the regular season with…

When we speak about the action happening lately on ice, one team from Boston ended their losing skid as soon as that ”other” team tried to end theirs.

For the Boston Bruins, their slump is over in the 2009 NHL hockey season. Bruins center Marc Savard said after his team won its second in succession to put a two-game losing streak to bed. ”If that’s a slump that seems pretty good.”

The two consecutive losses weren’t the slump; it was the way the club had been playing for several games. The Boston Bruins are leading the pack in the tight Eastern Conference with a 31-7 win-loss slate.

The Bruins are 8-2 in their last 10 games, followed by the Washington Capitals with 27- 13.

Taking third is the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers have gone 12-0-2 in their last 14 games at home and have not lost in regulation there since Nov. 8. They thrive off the energy of the raucous crowd that are more akin to those in the 1970s than those that have been booing regularly the last few seasons.

The Montreal Canadians are fourth at 25-10, the New York Rangers in fifth place with 25-15 and closing in at sixth are the New Jersey Devils with 24-15. Rounding up the top 10 in the Eastern conference standings are the Buffalo Sabres, the…

How about that? A Game 7 just so they can woo viewers to watching hockey instead of the more entertaining stuff they’ll get in the NBA.

The final game of the best-of-seven series between the San Jose Sharks and the Calgary Flames is set at the HP Pavilion at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California on Tuesday night. Yup, unfortunately for most of us, the 2008 NHL playoffs ain’t done yet.

Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff brought his A-game in Game 6 against San Jose. Kiprusoff came up with his first playoff shutout since the 2004 Stanley Cup final in a 2-0 victory Sunday night that extended their opening round playoff series to a seventh game back in San Jose.

Kiprusoff stopped 21 shots for the Flames in what actually was a fairly easy performance after his team dominated the game in all aspects from start to finish.

”The most consistent effort, as opposed to complete effort,” said Calgary Flames head coach Mike Keenan. ”We’ve had some good efforts, but consistency has hurt us a little bit, but that was the most consistent performance we’ve had to this point.”

The San Jose Sharks, on the other hand, will be looking to finish the series playing on their home ice.

”Well, it’s the seventh game; if you don’t win, you’re out,” San Jose Sharks head coach Ron Wilson said. ”If I have to manufacture desperation, we are in dire straits. Our players know what’s at…”

While we’re still in awe of how crazy it has been in the NBA’s Western conference playoff race, somebody’s playing a hockey playoff game.

You read it folks, the 2008 NHL playoffs have started as those boys skating around in a skating rink begin their quest for the Stanley Cup. It’s time to play catch-up people and on that note, here are the games to watch on a Tuesday night.

Game 4 of the first-round playoff series between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens is set at the TD Banknorth Garden Tuesday night. Marc Savard of the Bruins was the hero last Sunday, coming off the bench on a delayed penalty to score with 9:25 gone in overtime Sunday night as Boston beat Montreal for the first time this year, winning 2-1 in Game 3.

”We got the monkey off our back after 13 losses,” Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien, who wasn’t with the team when Montreal started its 13-game winning streak against Boston more than a year ago, said. ”The game was a lot like last night’s,” Julien said, referring to their loss in Game 2. ”But this time Lady Luck was smiling upon us.”

Tim Thomas made 27 saves for Boston, stopping several shots at close range in overtime. Carey Price stopped 29 shots for the Canadiens, who beat the Bruins in their last three tries last…

Yes, apparently, they’re still playing hockey.

And if the 2008 NHL playoffs started today, the New Jersey Devils and the Detroit Red Wings would have the No.1 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively.

The New Jersey Devils currently have 90 points and will play six of their last 10 games at home. New Jersey is now 42-24-6 and are 1st in the Atlantic. The Devils’ record at home is 22-12-1. On the road, the New Jersey Devils are tough with a record of 20-12-5.

The Devils will play the Philadelphia Flyers if the playoffs started today. New Jersey leads the regular season series versus the Philadelphia Flyers 5 – 1.

In the Western Conference, the Detroit Red Wings have 100 points under their belt. Detroit is 47-20-6, and 1st in the Central Division.

The Red Wings’ home record is 25-9-2. On the road, the Red Wings are 22-11-4. Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk leads the team in assists with 55 and made 28 goals in 72 games that he played.

While Detroit Red Wings left wing (Red Wings left wing?..) Henrik Zetterberg has 36 goals, 42 assists and thus have 78 points in 65 games. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg will play a vital role in Detroit’s quest to win the…

As the 2007 NHL Playoffs inch closer to the Conference Finals, the debate on who should be the postseason MVP begins.

Dubbed as the Conn Smythe Trophy, the 2007 NHL Playoffs MVP is awarded obviously to that player who proved how valuable he is NOT ONLY to his team but to the league.

The common mistake these sports leagues make, especially in the NBA is that they award MVP trophies to guys who are valuable ONLY to their team. Yeah, in case you didn’t realized it yet, I do have a problem with Steve Nash winning MVP awards during the last couple of years in the NBA.

Yes, Steve Nash is valuable to the Phoenix Suns but c’mon, Kobe Bryant was and STILL is THAT valuable to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns can live by without Nash but the Lakers without Kobe? Forget about it. Besides, he did have that 81-point game last season, making him VALUABLE not only to the NBA but to the rest of basketball.

Let’s hope the NHL doesn’t make the same stupid mistake.

So who’s it going to be? Let’s start with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. We have Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the winner of the 2003 Conn Smythe Trophy. Although the guy didn’t start in the first four games of the playoffs, the Mighty Ducks star did manage to play good enough to be a postseason MVP candidate. Besides, he was attending to his infant son’s serious eye issue then to start the playoffs so cut him some slack.

Nicklas Lidstrom has just been BIG for the Detroit Red Wings. In the final four games against the San Jose Sharks, Lidstrom averaged 29:05, 29:04, 36:09 and 28:34 a night, respectively, in ice time. As team captain, Lidstrom’s quiet presence and unflappable nature set the tone for a Red Wings team that will do so with patience and hard work.

Of course, you can’t have a list like this without the surprising Ottawa Senators right? The Senators are still alive and kicking in the 2007 NHL Playoffs and it’s probably all because of this guy, Dany Heatley.

The Senators were nowhere to be found after the second round of the playoffs last year. Thanks to Heatley, the Senators are now on a mission to bring the 2007 Stanley Cup home as the only remaining Canadian team in the postseason.

Heatley, together with linemates Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, combined for 23 points in a five-game series win over the masters of stifle, the New Jersey Devils. Heatley is tied for the playoff scoring lead with…

Peter Forsberg, for those of you new to the sport, was once NHL’s Most Valuable Player.

Now, Peter Forsberg is simply a guy on the brink of retirement. And yeah, his Nashville Predators exit in the first round of the 2007 NHL Playoffs sure didn’t help Pete to think otherwise.

You see, the Nashville Predators were hot at the start of the 2007 NHL Season. Hell, they were able to sustain it for the rest of the season too as they await the day when their star Peter Forsberg gets back to a hundred percent. Alas, the Predators were eliminated early in the first round, putting a disappointing end to what has been a very promising season.

Peter Forsberg, who turns 34 in July, became an unrestricted free agent when the Predators’ playoff run ended in the first round. He reiterated Monday that he would take a few months to rest and see if he could resolve the foot problems that limited him to 57 games this season.

”I had some problems with my foot there all year, especially at the beginning of the year,” said Forsberg, who is a native of Sweden for all ya’ll who gives a flying you-know-what.

”I don’t want to rush it. I just want to make sure everything is fine and I can play at the level I’ve been playing at. That’s kind of what the decision’s all about.”

Peter Forsberg had 55 points this season, 15 of those after Philadelphia traded him to Nashville in February for two players and two draft picks. Nashville was 10-4-3 when he was in the lineup, but he could not…

Well, I don’t know how much these Stanley Cup rings will go in the market but apparently, someone’s selling them.

Yep, apparently, Darren McCarty of the Calgary Flames is willing to sell his three Stanley Cup rings he won playing NHL Hockey. Quite sad ain’t it? Well, you gotta’ give the guy a break. He NEEDS the money being bankrupt and all.

Darren McCarty filed for bankruptcy after his role with his NHL Hockey team diminished. And yeah, as we all know in the world of sports, once your role starts to decrease, so too will your income.

McCarty will sell three rings he won with the Detroit Red Wings along with two replica Stanley Cup trophies, jerseys, photos and other items, including a Corvette and nine televisions.

Darren McCarty listed assets of $1.9 million and debts of $6.2 million in his bankruptcy filing. McCarty listed debts to banks, credit card companies, friends, utilities, law firms and at least $185,000 to casinos in Detroit and Las Vegas. At the time, McCarty said…