Can't even call this "under the wire."

Buffalo/NYR has started as I type, but miscellaneous notes from the first round, better late than never:

1. I had my doubts about Vancouver, but good for them for clawing their way back in game seven. If nothing else, Luongo deserved to have the team in front of him show up and play. I admit that it wasn't the most watchable series for me, but there's still a certain compelling beauty in a goaltender's duel.
   
2. On that note, Marty Turco should have dispelled all doubts about him as a playoff performer. I really like Turco, so as ugly as it was to see the Canucks squander a 3-1 series lead, a situation where he was redeemed and the Canucks still pulled it out was ideal. (It is all about me, of course.)
3. The Predators combined sub-par hockey with highly questionable behaviour to earn the honour of being the Official Embarrassment of the First Round. Sorry Flames; better luck next year.
4. Gary Galley held my attention in the Jersey/Tampa series moreso than the actual hockey. I love Galley. He's well spoken, emotional but rational, and he's never too big a homer, even when he's on the local Sens broadcast. His colour commentary blows Gord Wilson's shrieking right out of the water. I'd miss Gary from the Sens games, but he likely will earn a national stage in the near future. Good for him.
5. In other commentator news: Glenn Healy did not elevate his game for the playoffs (suprise!); I can tolerate Greg Millen when he's not drooling on the Flames, so I didn't have too many problems with him alongside (the alarmingly senile, but affable) Bob Cole; I would listen to Kelly Hrudey talk about the weather; and I expect Pierre McGuire to spontaneously combust with joy during a Sabres broadcast. Any day now.
6. I blinked and missed the Thrashers/Rangers games. I got the sense that the near-frenetic instability around the Thrashers overshadowed great hockey from the Rangers, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the Rangers bring in the second round. (When I'm done here, I'll turn on the TV and find out!)
7. I also blinked and missed the Ducks/Wild series. Unfortunately, I still can't bring myself to care. Sabres/Isles was not much better.
   
8. Martin Brodeur is a little chubby (by hockey standards) to be making a frozen pizza commercial. Just saying.

Round Two

Senators/Devils will clog up this space for the foreseeable future -- and I think my preference is clear -- but the rest:

Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Rangers
This should be interesting! I don't know how much I'll be able to watch, since I'm only rooting for the Rangers as the lesser of two evils. But with the posturing already begun, it's sure to be more entertaining than the Sabres/Isles series. I just hope that if the Rangers can't beat the Sabres, they at least give Buffalo a good challenge. (I'm sure I asked exactly the same thing of the Islanders, but maybe the Rangers can actually deliver?)

Anaheim Ducks vs. Vancouver Canucks
Brian Burke comes "home"! Drama! Intrigue! Okay, maybe not, but I feel that Luongo and the Canucks can take this, especially if fatigue doesn't catch up to them. Yes, the Ducks have rest on their side, but the Canucks have momentum.

San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings
Tough one. Top to bottom, I like the Sharks. I like the way they play, I like they way they handle themselves on and off the ice, I love the way the organization is run. On the other hand, I hate the Red Wings . . . but I'm happy to see Bertuzzi in the playoffs again, and winning. I prefer the Sharks in the end (and think they probably will make it through in six or seven), but I'd really like to see Bertuzzi (and guys like Dan Cleary) have a strong round despite that.


Last Note

I've maintained that I would root for anyone in a Team Canada jersey, but Colby Armstrong?! That is unnecessarily cruel.