NHL playoffs 2013 Updates: Blackhawks grab 2-0 series lead

While Western Conference teams opened up 2-0 series leads, both Eastern Conference series in action Friday night shifted to 1-1 series splits.

Anyway, on to the night’s GIFs!

Sudden death is always a cruel way to go, but it was particularly painful for the Canucks because they had come back in this game and were 55 seconds from tying the series.

The Canucks, so close to preventing this series from getting really scary as it moves to San Jose, rebounded and managed four shots in overtime. But Torres’ shot, the Sharks fourth of overtime, put an end to the night.

All signs pointed to a Canucks victory, as Vancouver’s play improved over the course of the game and they benefited from two goalposts hit by the Sharks.

This game is headed to overtime. The Canucks are still at risk of dropping both games at home.

If Game 1 was a nail biter, this one was nearly a laugher. The Hawks outshot the Wild, 48-28, and never had to sit back to protect their lead.

Here’s Kane’s spinorama pass on Sharp’s second:

Though, to be fair, even noted Canucks skeptics and Burrows critics thought that was a tough call:

Fortunately, the Canucks killed that one off.

Before the game we considered three questions. Now we have answers:

Also no. This time, Anderson was not the hero, and the Canadiens got to him twice early in the second period. Those two goals were enough.

The first goal, by Malkin, went like this:

But Nabokov made big saves the rest of the way, making the comeback possible.

He has stopped 20 shots through two periods and is generally back in form.

He also stopped his own teammate’s kick to the face, though he lost some teeth in the exchange. What do you do when someone kicks your teeth out with a hockey skate?

It was Okposo’s first NHL fight. Safe to say Niskanen got the worst of it:

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A war of words between players and coaches commenced through the media, and players jawed during the pre-game warmups.

So, bad blood? Yes. But goals? No.

Then they gave up a goal.

In Game 1, the Islanders were hurt by an early penalty. At least they wouldn’t do that again, right?

Not a lot of people have trust in the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks during the Stanley Cup Playoffs right now. After a five-game exit to a No. 8 seed (albeit, a Stanley Cup winning one) in 2012, the Canucks are on high alert, especially with their goaltending controversy. The Sharks, on the other hand, have always had a choker label stapled to their backs (no room for more logos on the front of their jerseys) despite having made the conference finals twice in 2010 and 2011.

That’s what made the Western Conference Quarterfinal between the two teams an intriguing series to me. So many players with negative reputations among many hockey fans, most of them undeservedly so. As it turned out, what we got was merely a very competent, exciting game that the Sharks took 3-1.

Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal between the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks was one of the stranger opening’s to a series in recent memory. Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom suffered a lower body injury in the warmups. This forced heavy underdog Minnesota to go without their starting goaltender just minutes before the opening game against the best team during the NHL’s regular season.

Then things got weird. The Wild played really well to start. All of a sudden, 4:48 into the first, Cal Clutterbuck got a goal. The Wild were up 1-0. Josh Harding was looking pretty good. Could this really be happening?