Spaling
The Nashville Predators had never advanced beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs before they knocked off Anaheim in Game 6 yesterday.
And rookie forward Nick Spaling was front and center among the stars in the historic victory.
Spaling scored twice as Nashville downed Anaheim, 4-2, to clinch the Western Conference quarterfinal series with the Ducks by the same score. For his efforts, Nick Spaling is the TheBruinsBlog.net Star of the Night.
Spaling scored the game-winning goal 4:53 into the third period. But he didn’t limit his contributions to the Preds’ win to goals. As The Tennessean explains:
Spaling’s two goals were the unquestioned highlights of his day, but he also performed well in other areas. He had 17:32 of ice time, three shots, two hits and won seven of 10 faceoffs.
This postseason, especially, has been an opportunity for unsung heroes to emerge in almost every series. Yesterday was Spaling’s turn.
Honorable mention: Thomas Vanek (2 goals) and Tyler Myers (3 assists) of Buffalo; Daniel Briere (2 goals), Brian Boucher (24-of-25 saves, win in relief) and Ville Leino (GWG OT) of Philadelphia; Dave Bolland (1-1-2) and Ben Smith (GWG OT) of Chicago.
Yesterday’s scores
Philadelphia 5, Buffalo 4 (OT)
Nashville 4, Anaheim 2
Chicago 4, Vancouver 3 (OT)
Today’s games
Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, 7
San Jose at Los Angeles, 10
Still can’t believe Luongo got a Vezina nod, while Lundqvist/Price (among others) were left out in the cold. What a joke.
It was a deflected puck but I don’t think Luongo had time to make it look sensational. He was lucky to stop it at all. I’ll only root for Chicago when their playing Phili. Go Canucks.
Matt, No love for Michael Frolik? That penalty shot goal was clutch, not to mention that he effectively set up the overtime winner by faking out Schneider straight to the IR.
It was a deflected puck but Lou tried to make it look sensational and put him self out of position for the rebound. Greasy and phony is how I describe the guy. Did I forget overrated? I knew we’d see Schnieder before the playoffs were over. I’d love to see Van and their idiot fans out. Go Hawks. Miller and Buffalo are worried about Philly and their cheap shots. Miller should worry about one little black thing. Go Sabres. I just don’t like San Jose and their captain. Go Kings.
I was extremely disappointed when BUF couldn’t hold on to their 3-0 lead… against Philly.
On another note, Luongo’s initial save that led to Smith’s rebound goal in OT was hilariously awful. A full-on flop in an attempt to make a standard blocker save, and he left the net wide open. Let’s go Hawks, finish the job!
nice to see the front runner win a game 6. hope the b’s can do the same thing tomorrow night.
Teemu. One more year. You can play here.