Top Seeded Teams Shine

The defending Stanley Cup Champion, Pittsburgh Penguins, ousted the Ottawa Senators from the playoffs last night in game six of the best-of-seven series. It was a close game, but Pittsburgh's talent, experience, and depth was there to pull them out of trouble in the end. The Pens came back from a 3-1 deficit to take the game into overtime, where Pascal Dupuis scored the winning goal. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby currently leads playoff scoring with 14 points.

The San Jose Sharks, top seed in the Western Conference, also advanced to the second round of the playoffs, after a shaky start against the Colorado Avalanche. Many were withdrawing their support for the Sharks after losing game one, as many thought they would once again bow out of the playoffs early.

The young second and third liners, however, were the ones that came through for the Sharks, with Joe Pavelski and Devin Setoguchi leading the way. The Sharks now need to step it up in the second round to prove their critics wrong. Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, and Patrick Marleau must begin to put up points for the Sharks to compete in the second round.

The Detroit Red Wings can move to the second round of the playoffs today, with a win over the Phoenix Coyotes. The series stands at 3-2, and the Red Wings will hope to shut down the Coyotes early. That game start at 2:00pm EST today, on TSN.

Second seeded, Chicago Blackhawks also come out on top with an exciting win over the Nashville Predators yesterday, with Patrick Kane tying the game with a short handed goal in the dying seconds. Marian Hossa, the recipient of a five minute major, had just come out of the penalty box in overtime to score the winning goal. It was by far the most exciting game of the series, and Chicago now leads 3-2.

There is also a big game in Los Angeles tonight, as the Kings face elimination in game six against the Vancouver Canucks. This has also been a hard fought series, however game five was a blowout for the Canucks, where they scored seven goals. The young Los Angeles Kings will need to show confidence and not let that loss get the best of them. It should be a great game to watch. CBC is covering this game with a start time of 9:00pm EST.