THE PLAYOFF SKINNY
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins When: Monday, 5 p.m., CBC The series: Tied 1-1. The skinny: We seem quick to dismiss the Penguins, who’ve had little luck against the Rangers the past couple of seasons and whose stars have generally not played up to their billing. But Sidney Crosby stepped up on Saturday, looking like hockey’s best player — not the guy who’d scored just once in 19 previous playoff appearances — and just like that the Pens have home-ice advantage. Pens need to be wary of Martin St. Louis, a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner who’s now practically hidden on the Rangers’ third line. He’s scoreless through two games, but that can change fast.
St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild When: Monday, 6 p.m., Sportsnet One The series: Tied 1-1. The skinny: Here’s something most hockey fans around North America don’t know: in St. Louis, they refer to their team as the ‘Note’ — short for their ‘Blue Note’ emblem. Well, the line of Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen and Jori Lehtera certainly hit all the right notes in Game 2, with Tarasenko, the 23-year-old Russian sniper, scoring a hat trick on even-strength, power-play and empty-net markers. Tarasenko scored 37 goals in his second full season, and it looks like superstardom is just around the corner. Now the series switches to St. Paul, Minn., where “State of Hockey” is also a big nickname. Despite a rabid following, the Wild’s home record in the regular season was the worst of the 16 playoff teams.
Anaheim Ducks at Winnipeg Jets When: Monday, 7 p.m., Sportsnet The series: Ducks lead 2-0. The skinny: The look on Jets head coach Paul Maurice’s face Saturday night, when the Ducks’ Jakob Silfverberg scored with 21 seconds to go, said it all: The Jets could well be leading this series 2-0. Instead, it’s the other way around and the Jets have to be wondering what else they can do. But the Jets do have an advantage at home that the Ducks didn’t have: 15,000-plus fans who haven’t seen a playoff game live in close to two decades. Lots of people are upset with Jets captain Andrew Ladd for his needless third-period high-sticking penalty that led to the Ducks’ tying goal, but a greater concern should be the Jets’ power play, which went 0-for-7 in Anaheim.