Ottawa and Vancouver did as expected and got off to a flying start in the NHL playoffs. The Senators scored 2 quick early goals to easily put away Pittsburgh 6-3.
Roberto Luongo's first playoff game will always be memorable. The Canucks goalie had 72 saves as Vancouver edged Dallas 5-4 in the 4th overtime period. No goofy shootouts in playoff hockey.
The Sedin twins were the heroes at the end. Henrik Sedin took a pass from his brother Daniel and scored at 18:06 (for neophyte hockey fans, 18:06 means that amount of time into a 20-minute period, so there was 1:54 left in that period when he scored).
In the U.S., we have the coverage on Versus, though it is not nearly as good as the CBC. The Versus crew couldn't even get the scorer of the first goal within the TV frame.
I wasn't even sure we'd get an American feed for these games. Versus is very reluctant to travel north of the border for coverage. So for the first time all season, Ottawa and Vancouver were featured on Versus, and at home as well.
It's difficult to build momentum when you wait until the playoffs to introduce two of the top teams in the league.
One treat you get with the CBC coverage has been Coach's Corner with Don Cherry. The bombastic former coach is part John Madden, part Terry Bradshaw, and part something you can't translate into American. He is a treat in the in-between periods segments.
Cherry is also going to do some work for NBC, giving the American audience a peek into this controversial persona. Hopefully, he won't have to tone it down for the Americans.
All times listed are Eastern Daylight time.
* if necessary
Eastern Conference
(4) Ottawa vs. (5) Pittsburgh
Ottawa 1-0
at Ottawa 6, Pittsburgh 3
April 14 3p at Ottawa (CBC, NBC)
April 15 6p at Pittsburgh (VERSUS, CBC)
April 17 7p at Pittsburgh (VERSUS, CBC)
April 19 7p at Ottawa* (CBC, VERSUS)
April 22 7p at Pittsburgh* (NBC, CBC)
April 24 7p at Ottawa* (VERSUS, CBC)
Western Conference
(1) Detroit vs. (8) Calgary
April 12 7p at Detroit (VERSUS, CBC)
April 15 1p at Detroit (NBC, CBC)
April 17 10p at Calgary (CBC, VERSUS)
April 19 TBD at Calgary (CBC, VERSUS)
April 21 3p at Detroit* (NBC, CBC)
April 22 TBD at Calgary* (CBC, VERSUS)
April 24 TBD at Detroit* (CBC, VERSUS)
(3) Vancouver vs. (6) Dallas
Vancouver 1-0
at Vancouver 5, Dallas 4 (4 OT)
April 13 9p at Vancouver (CBC, VERSUS)
April 15 9:30p at Dallas (VERSUS, CBC)
April 17 8p at Dallas (CBC [JIP])
April 19 TBD at Vancouver* (CBC, VERSUS)
April 21 8p at Dallas* (VERSUS, CBC)
April 23 TBD at Vancouver* (CBC, VERSUS)
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