Morning Skate: Is that a weenie in your hat?

Morning skate is a feature that will look at the stories developing each day in these 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and a look ahead to the games on the schedule.

There were three game-three’s on the schedule last night and in each case the road team won by a goal.

Rangers 1 Senators 0

Henrik Lundqvist held off the Ottawa Senators, making 39 saves, and Brian Boyle scored the only goal in a 1-0 Rangers win. Lundqvist made his best save on Kyle Turris, point blank and alone in the slot, with less than a minute to go. Despite speculation he could play, Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson sat the game out with concussion symptoms.

Game 4 Wednesday 7:30 EST

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Manic Monday: Recapping the weekend that was

Well kids, I decided to take the weekend off. I’ll probably continue blogging Monday through Friday until the third round when the number of games drops down.

Let’s take a look at what’s transpired in my drunkenness days off.

Nightly Review: Overtime Heroes and a Game of Zeroes

Rangers 4 Senators 2

Sometimes a timeout can make all the difference. Despite a 1-0 lead in the second period, John Tortorella’s Rangers were being pushed hard by an Ottawa team that had had their number all season. Tortorella called a time out to calm his players and it worked. New York scored the next three goals to establish a 4-0 lead. Ottawa managed to get on the scoreboard with a pair of goals in the third but it was too late.

Morning Skate: Crossing the line – Weber, Bitz, Briere… and Twitter?

Morning skate is a feature that will look at the stories developing each day in these 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and a look ahead to the games on the schedule.

Playoff Previews: Blues vs Sharks

2 St Louis Blues vs San Jose Sharks

What a difference a coach makes. Under Davis Payne, the St Louis Blues began this season with a 5-7-1 record. Not terrible, but certainly below expectation for a young, up and coming team. Payne was fired after a 2-1 loss to Minnesota on November 5, 2011. He was replaced by Ken Hitchcock who guided the Blues to a 44-15-10 record the rest of the way.

Maybe San Jose should have taken note. They too had high expectations coming into this season. Exchanging forwards Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat and sending F Devin Setoguchi to Minnesota for D Brent Burns was supposed to shake things up and add defensive depth. The result was the Sharks not even entering into the playoff picture until March and April. He may have held his job to this point, but coach Todd McLellan is likely on a short leash depending on the outcome of these playoffs.