Playoffs Week 6: Sticks Meet Faces

What would playoffs be without some real drama… like a butt-end to the face and a retaliatory slash to a goalie’s chest? That was the scene at the end of game 2 between the Stars and Red Wings. Mike Ribiero took goalie Chris Osgood’s stick in the face on the way into a scrum and decided that a two-hand chop was the best way to let him know he didn’t appreciate it. It always gets a little serious when we start dealing with stick swinging… it is dangerous and it usually escalates the situation.

What Osgood did was pretty obvious. Every goalie has done it in some fashion… Osgood just happened to catch the guy in the face with the knob of his stick. There are many times during a game when an opposing player is trying to cut close to the net to collide with a player on the other team. In the incident in Detroit their were 2 opposing players looking to hit a player with really no time on the clock. Osgood was just thinking of his teammate.

 
In most cases this comes up when a defenseman is racing back for a puck that has been dumped in the zone with an opposing player hot on his heels. If the moment is right I try and interfere in subtle ways to make sure the opposing player really has to go out of his way to hit my teammate. By raising a stick or glove to obstruct the line the checking player is taking I may help my teammate get enough time to make a play or avoid being hit. Usually the goalie will not make contact with the player, it is usually a scare tactic. It's a little thing and may not really help that much in the grand scheme, but saving a big hit earns you a lot of respect from your teammates.

 
So we have a couple series at 2-0 for the home teams… I think that it will be a different story when the teams that are trailing get back home. To make it to the conference finals you have had to play some great hockey and push through adversity at some point. I think that we could be looking at 2-2 series after the next 5 days or so. The Flyers played pretty well in Pittsburgh and with a crowd behind them I bet they will punish the Pittsburgh forwards a little more.

 
In the other series I think Dallas played a little better but have to find a way to generate more puck time. Getting out-shot the way they have won’t cut it. They need far more time in the Wing’s zone… just not sure they can do it with the responsible Red Wings game plan. The reason I think that this series will be 2-2 is Marty Turco. He has been tested and answered… if his team gives him some more protection I think he can steal a few wins.

Tune in to Stretch on Maxim Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio each Wednesday morning at 11am ET for NHL All-Star goalie Ryan Miller's weekly Stanley Cup Playoffs report.