GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Detroit Red Wings passed an enormous first test in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The second one will be even bigger.
By eliminating the Phoenix Coyotes with a 6-1 win at Jobing.com Arena on Tuesday night, the Red Wings earned a trip to San Jose, where they'll face the top-seeded Sharks in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Guided by former Red Wings assistant Todd McLellan, the Sharks won 51 games and racked up 113 points to earn the No. 1 seed in the West. San Jose disposed of the Colorado Avalanche in six games in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The series will begin at HP Pavilion at a date and time yet to be determined. Whenever it does start, the Wings vow to be ready.
"It's real better than the challenge of not playing," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said of facing San Jose. "We're thrilled to have the opportunity. Todd will have them really well prepared. We'll be prepared, too."
San Jose hasn't played since it eliminated the Avs with a 5-2 win at Colorado last Saturday. It took roughly 72 hours to find out who its opponent was going to be in Round 2.
"It's a little funny at practice because we've been doing different systems for different teams," forward Scott Nichol told the Sharks' Web site. "It is nice to know who we are playing."
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=527331How often has No. 8 defeated No. 1?
Since the NHL switched the current playoff format in 1994 -- seeding teams 1-8 in a conference format -- the No. 8 seed has upset the No. 1 seed eight times out of 30 instances (26.7 percent).
The Montreal Canadiens can make it 9-for-32 should they knock off the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Wednesday at Verizon Center (7 p.m., VERSUS, TSN, RDS).
You don't have to go back far to find the most recent instance of No. 8 prevailing over No. 1. In the 2009 Western Conference Quarterfinals, No. 8 Anaheim upset the No. 1 Sharks, the Presidents' Trophy winner, in six games.
Of the eight upsets, five have come in six games and three others in seven games. Those series that went the distance are San Jose over Detroit in 1994, Pittsburgh over New Jersey in 1999 and San Jose over St. Louis in 2000.
The Sharks are the only team to twice win a playoff series as the No. 8 against a No. 1. San Jose also is the only team to win as a No. 8 and lose a series as No. 1.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=527347Bruins' Savard cleared to play
Whenever the Boston Bruins start the second round of the playoffs, they will have Marc Savard in the lineup.
The top-line center, who hasn't played since suffering a concussion March 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, has received medical clearance to play.
Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced during a conference call with reporters Tuesday that Savard was examined Monday afternoon by neurologist Jeremy Schmahamann at Massachusetts General Hospital and had passed all necessary tests.
"He (Schmahamann) examined Marc, he had some further discussion with our doctors and he has been cleared to play," said Chiarelli. "I'll leave it up to Claude (Julien, coach) as far as putting the lines together and who plays and who doesn't play. Marc is ready to go. We'll see how his conditioning goes, but I know from talking to him he's very anxious to play."
Savard began skating April 18, and has been practicing with the team since April 24. Chiarelli said he isn't exactly surprised Savard is able to play again, but admits he had doubts his top center would be available anytime before next season.
"I use Patrice (Bergeron) as a reference point," said Chiarelli of his center, who suffered a season-ending concussion 10 games into the 2007-08 season. "I saw Patrice after his concussion and when I saw Savvy after his, and there was a big difference. They were both obviously very severe. As I saw Savvy recuperate, a lot of things happened more quickly compared to Patrice. There were some doubts at points in time because he still had that glazed look. These things turn, they don't recover in the same way as a torn ligament or separated shoulder. They can turn quickly. That happened with Marc and you could see a real change. When I saw that, I had a pretty good idea he'd be back if we could stretch it out."
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=527223Budding Hawks-Canucks rivalry to make an encore
Moments after his team had advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville was asked about the Blackhawks' next opponent, the Vancouver Canucks.
After playing what could almost be deemed a gentlemanly series against Nashville, with each coach praising the other in postgame conferences and off-day media sessions, and not a single fighting major recorded, the expectation for the re-match of last year's conference semifinal meeting betweens these teams is expected to follow a grittier path, to say the least.
"I'm sure it won't take long to rekindle the animosity," Quenneville said. "The rivalries are more intense, but in the playoffs there's a lot more focus and retaliation won't work. We have to be at our best and work."
One difference in the series will be that Chicago, as the West's No. 2 seed, will host it. Last year the Blackhawks had four more points than Vancouver during the regular season, but as the Northwest Division champion, Vancouver hosted.
The teams split the first two games, with Vancouver winning Game 3 at home -- the identical situation to Chicago's first-round series with Nashville. As in their series with the Predators, the Hawks denied Vancouver a chance to go up 3-1 on home ice, as Andrew Ladd scored at 2:52 of overtime to earn a 2-1 victory -- a series-changing goal.
And just as in their Nashville series, Chicago closed out the series by winning the next two to eliminate Vancouver in six games.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=527231Canadiens aiming to go beyond Game 7
WASHINGTON -- Throughout the series we've heard the Montreal Canadiens talk about how the pressure is on the Washington Capitals, how the Habs have nothing to lose, that they weren't even supposed to compete against the Presidents' Trophy winners.
Now it's Game 7 and all that nonsense, well, forget about it. The Habs have always been in this to win it, and they know what's at stake Wednesday night at Verizon Center (7 p.m. ET, VERSUS, TSN, RDS).
"Both teams have got lots to lose," Canadiens left wing Travis Moen said Wednesday morning. "Everybody wants to move on here. You're playing for the Stanley Cup and nobody wants to go home early, so we both have lots to lose."
If you want to talk in mental terms, yes, there is more pressure on the Capitals because they are at home and they've already blown a 3-1 lead in this series. But with Montreal being the hockey hotbed it is, are we to assume that the Canadiens aren't under any pressure to win?
Isn't the pressure to win always huge in Montreal? Heck, just the other night, after Montreal had beaten the Capitals in Game 6 at Bell Centre, Canadiens forward Tom Pyatt admitted that he was taken aback by how wild the city went.
They flooded the streets and bars like a college town the night of a national championship. It was only Game 6 of the first round.
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