After Four Games Of The First Round In The West

Crawford lets the puck slide past him in overtime and the
Blackhawks lose in another tight game with the Coyotes
PHOTO: nhl.com

So, we've made it to the halfway point of the first round of the playoffs, and it has been rather eventful when compared to previous years. Here is my breakdown of each series this far.


VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs LOS ANGELES KINGS

The Canucks finished this season with the best record in the NHL, which earns them the President's trophy, but things didn't quite go their way early in the playoffs. Daniel Sedin didn't play in their first three games for the Canucks as the Kings jumped to an 3-0 series lead. Vancouver would win game four with Daniel Sedin in the line-up, but have a big hill to climb.

Roberto Luongo played in net for the Canucks in games one and two, and played considerably well, but Cory Schneider was given the call for game three to change things up. Despite the loss in game three, Schneider, who played well, was given the nod to start in net for game four which he won. This raises a lot of questions about the future of Luongo and whether or not he will be playing for the Canucks in the near future.

The real goaltending story in this series is Jonathan Quick for the Los Angeles Kings. In my opinion he has been the best goalie of the playoffs thus far.