B&O Playoff Notes: Rangers are toast, Price can't Carey the load, Osgood back in top form, and Brad Richards a deadline steal

Eastern Conferene

Penguins v. Rangers - I don't even think Islander fans would have predicted that the Penguins would be currently sitting with a 3-0 series lead on the Rangers. But having watched every minute of every game so far, I can tell you that the Penguins sit where they because they are the far superior team. In game 1, the Penguins came storming back from an early 3-0 deficit and haven't looked back since. In game 2, the Rangers cried that the refs blew the game for them, but anyone who watched that game could tell you that the Rangers were tremendously outplayed for 59 minutes. Game 3 should have been the Rangers night to regain some lost ground in the series, but apparently Chris Simon's vicious attack on Ryan Hollweg didn't knock any sense into the latter. After the Rangers stormed back from a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 deficit, Hollweg for no reason in the offensive zone disgustingly bulldozed Petr Sykora from behind into the boards. That gave the Penguins back some much needed momentum, and moments later, a power play goal. Sean Avery is out for the season, which could remind the Rangers to focus more on playing hockey, and less on how to continuously agitate your opponents with bush league antics.

Canadians v. Flyers - Think about what the Flyers have accomplished thus far. They went from being one of the worst teams in the East one year ago (where the Isles are now) to leading the first place Canadians in the second round of the playoffs. The progression of the Flyers organization shows that a complete turnaround is possible if the right decisions are made. The Canadians' GM should be fired for unloading Cristobol Huet at the trading deadline and forcing an untested and unproven Carey Price to lead the way.

Western Conference

Red Wings v. Avalanche - Nobody here is crying that Ryan Smyth's Avalanche are no match for the Red Wings. The Red Wings are simply a much quicker, smarter, and more disciplined hockey team. I also have no kind words for teams like the Ducks and the Avalanche who each before the trading deadline picked up all-stars who chose to sit out for a majority of the NHL season. In addition, it has been great to see Chris Osgood steal the reigns from Hasek and run with it. Remember, Osgood was run out of Detroit after the Red Wings first acquired Hasek. Osgood quickly became a fan favorite on Long Island--he was a great Islander who was happy to be here and was an instrumental part is getting the Isles back to respectability in the NHL.

Sharks v. Stars - What's wrong with the San Jose Sharks? They just can't seem to put it all together--a great regular season team that simply can't get over that last hurdle in the playoffs. Nabokov is the clear Vezina winner after a remarkable regular season, but he still has yet to carry his team deep into the playoffs. The Stars went out and got Brad Richards at the trading deadline, a move that has already paid for itself.

Golf Conference

Isles v. The Rest - Nothing has really happened in the Isles organization since the end of the regular season. Bergenheim was injured for a few days, DP became a TV star, and Snow signed a few college players. Snow has plenty of work to do this offseason, which we will start to pay more attention to as the NHL season winds down. So for now, the Isles can continue to work on their golf game and can patiently await the rival Rangers to join them on the golf course in the not so distant future.