[Hockey] NHL Playoffs 2nd round wrap up - Conference Finals Preview

The second round came to an end, and the 4 Conference finalists are the Los Angeles Kings and the Phoenix Coyotes in the West and the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils in the East.

Eastern Conference (Semis):

New York Rangers (1st) - Washington Capitals (7th) 4-3
This was the series, that finished last, and was one of the most thrilling ones. Examples? 1) The Rangers won game 3 in the third period of overtime, the game almost lastet two regular games.
2) The Rangers were down 2-1 in game five, facing a loss (would make 3-2 in the series for Washington) but with 6.6 seconds left, they tied the game and won the game in overtime after 1.35 minutes. 
Actually, this was the only series, that went to 7 games. Game 7 at Madison Square Garden in New York was decided by the Rangers with a 2-1 victory then.

Philadelphia Flyers (5th) - New Jersey Devils (6th) 1-4
Well, after the Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in an outstanding and convincing way, I really tought, they had a chance to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. I was wrong, and I am not sure, what I could learn after a series, the Devils won against the Flyers. Were, the Pens that bad or did the Flyers just underestimate the Devils or were the Devils really that much better? I don't know. But I like the way, the Devils played.
After winning the first game in overtime, the Flyers lost 4 straight games and fell to the Devils in five. Sure, they had to deal with Giroux's suspension in game 5 (he got suspended because of an illegal hit to the head in game four), but they weren't really that strong as they were in their first series. (The factors that mattered for the games against the Pens, e.g. Powerplay, Claude Giroux didn't work out)
Fun fact: The team that scored first lost the game then.

Western Conference (Semis):

St. Louis Blues (2nd) - Los Angeles Kings (8th) 0-4
Wow, that was quick (a very lame joke, because the LA's goalie name is Quick)! Well I am a bit surprised, because the Kings eliminated the 1st and 2nd in the West and advanced as the first team to the Conference finals. (And now, they will face the 3rd in the Conference)
To be honest, I just saw one game and that was the fourth of this series, it was said, that this was, maybe, the best game of the Blues. Well then, congrats to the Kings.

Phoenix Coyotes (3rd) - Nashville Predators (4th) 4-1
So, the Western Conference Finals got the second team. Whilst the East was still batteling for the two final spots, the West was completed Monday night (May, 7th).
(I can't really say that much about this series, didn't see one game, unfortunatelly,just read the articles about it then)

 

Conference Finals

East: (sarting monday May 14th)
New York Rangers (1st) - New Jersey Devils (6th)

West: (starting sunday May 13th)
Phoenix Coyotes (3rd) - Los Angeles Kings (8th)
(LA won the first game in Glendale, Arizona)

[Hockey] Is this Flyers team ready for the Cup? + Semis updates + Worlds in Finland/Sweden

ESPN America's schedule allowed me, up till now, to see all the Philadelphia Flyers' games during this playoff season.
Especially after the 6 games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, I'm finding myself asking, if the Flyers would be ready for their third Stanley Cup?
It's been a long time, the Philadelphia Flyers raised it. They won in 1974 and 1975 and had their last appearance in a Stanley Cup Final 2010, when they lost in 6 games against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Flyers had some important keypoints during the first series, I want 1) to point out in the following and 2) to compare with the first three games of the 2nd round series vs. the New Jersey Devils.

Keypoints during the series vs. the Penguins and how they managed it vs. the Devils:

1)Comeback: In the first game of the series, the Pittsburgh Penguins were 3-0 after 20 Minutes and lost the game in overtime, in games 2 and 3 the Flyers also came back from a deficit and were 3-0 after three games. Their ability to come back and not give up, was one of the reasons, they won this series.
Down 1-0 in the first game against the Devils, the Flyers won in overtime, again, but couldn't win the second and third game after a 1-0 lead.

2)Rookies: Flyers' new kids outscored Penguins' stars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby in 6 games. Claude Giroux scored 6 goals and had 14 points during the first round, along with Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek or James van Riemsdyk, he played 6 great games.
Against the New Jersey Devils Giroux isn't as productive as he was in the first series. Only one powerplay goal in three games and no assists are in the books for a player, called the "best player in the world" by his coach Peter Laviolette after the victory against cross-state rival Pittsburgh.

3) Danny Brière: He scored the Flyers' first goal in the first round and scored the game winning OT goal in the first and the 3-3 equalizer in the third game against the New Jersey Devils.
Up till now he has 8 goals (leading the statistics) and 12 points in 9 games this post season and 108 points (50 goals) in 106 playoff games. There is a reason, why they call him Mr. Playoffs!

4) Powerplay: 14/39 in 9 games, 12/23 vs. Pens and 3 short handed goals, only two PP goals vs.the Devils in the first and third game (having at least wasted three powerplays during the overtimes), no PPG in the 2nd game.

5) Goaltending: In the first round, the Flyers' goalies allowed 4,33 goals per game, after 9 playoff games 4,11 goals/game. Not only that they allowed so many goals, the goalies looked a bit shaky during the first round, that said, the Penguins couldn't capitalize and allowed even more goals. Although the Flyers lost the 2nd and 3rd game against the Devils the goaltender did a great job and had some awesome saves (it is definitely not his fault that they lost), while the Flyers themselves just couldn't produce any great chances, especially in game two (example? 2nd period: first shot on goal 2 minutes before the period ended)

6)Final thoughts: The Flyers literally overrun the Penguins in the first round, but they have a lot of problems shutting the Devils down now. (Maybe it was their motivation against the Pens oder the Penguins' problems they faced the last months before the playoffs or just the mental aspect after game 1, beeing 3-0 in front and losing in overtime could be tough).
But their powerplay isn't working as well as it did in the games against the Pens, or in other words, the Devils PK is much better, than the Pens' one was. In last night's overtime for example, the Devils had to kill two penalties and did it well and "the best player in the world" Claude Giroux hasn't been a factor yet. (But it's still great, being world's best player for a week or so)
The way, they played against the Pittsburgh Penguins I'd say, they had a chance to make the Stanley Cup finals, but after the last two games against the New Jersey Devils, I'm not sure though.


Semis updates May 4th:

West:
Phoenix Coyotes - Nashville Predators 2-1
The Preds were down 2-0 after two games, while their goaltender Pekka Rinne allowed 9 goals in the first two games (he allowed 9 goals in 5 games in the first playoff round). Not enough problems with that, the Predators suspended two players because of "violation of the team rules". Maybe just what they needed, they won their first game at home in this series and goalie Rinne had his first career playoff shutout in wednesday night's 3rd game.

Los Angeles Kings - St. Louis Blues 3-0
The Los Angeles Kings had 5 away games in the playoffs, till now, and won all of them, only lost 1 game at home.
Could it be the LA Kings, that move to the Stanley Cup finals from the Western Conference?

East:
New York Rangers - Washingtion Capitals 2-1
After two games, the series was tied and the third game, wedneday night, took place in Washington. The New York Rangers won this game in the 3rd OT period, after they almost played 55 minutes during this overtime. (They nearly played two complete hockey games = 120 minutes on one evening)

Philadelphia Flyers - New Jersey Devils 1-2
After their victory in the first game during overtime, the Flyers fell short in the 2nd and 3rd game. In game 2 the hometeam had the 1-0 lead after 40 Minutes, then the Devils scored 4 unanswered goals in the 3rd period to tie the series in one. The third game went into OT, where the Devils scored the game winning goal after 17 minutes.

Worlds in Finland/Helsinki and Sweden/Stockholm 4-20 May 2012:

Today, the 76th men's world ice hockey championships are starting in Finland and Sweden.
I love hockey, but I really get exhausted by seeing this big ice hockey rink (comparing to the ones in North America).
As I am from Germany, I am really excited about it and how the German team will play their first game today, team captain would be Marcel Goc, the only NHL player in Germany's roster (his team, the Florida Panthers lost against the New Jersey Devils during the first playoff round).
The last two world championships were really awesome to watch, beating the Russian team 2-0 last year, was all over the news here in Germany, a country, where a lot of people dont't know much about hockey. (Germany lost their quarterfinals against Sweden, who won the silver medal in the finals against Finland)
It is also a tournament with a lot of starts especially from Sweden, Russia and Canada, that said, these would also be my picks to win the worlds this year.
New mode: 2 groups with 8 teams each, first 4 are playing the quaterfinals then, the 8th will be relegated.

[Hockey] NHL - Playoffs first round wrap up

Today, I just wanna give you an update after the first round of the NHL playoffs, what happened during the last weeks and which teams advanced into the second round of the playoffs.

Eastern Conference:

New York Rangers (1st) - Ottawa Senators (8th) 4:3
The New York Rangers, the best team during the regular season in the East, were down 2:3 after 5 games, so it was a great effort to force game 7 and they used their home ice advantage at Madison Square Garden to win the last game.

Boston Bruins (2nd) - Washington Capitals (7th) 3:4
Games 1-7 were decided with a one goal difference. Game 7 went into OT and the Caps scored the game winning goal to eliminate last year's Stanley Cup Champion Boston.

Florida Panthers (3rd) - New Jersey Devils (6th) 3:4
The Devils forced a 7th game in Florida and won it in the second overtime to move into round 2.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4th) - Philadelphia Flyers (5th) 2:4
I've already said enough about this series. I love the Pens, and I believed, when they won the games 4 and 5. But these just disguised the problems, they've had in the defense and with the goaltending. Interesting to see, if there will be any moves during the off season.
On the other hand, I am looking forward to the next Flyers games, not sure, how they will play against the upcoming team(s).

Western Conference:

Vancouver Canucks (1st) - Los Angeles Kings (8th) 1:4
Wow, that was fast, the Vancouver Canucks entered the post season with winning the Presidents' Trophy (meaning, they got the most points during the regular season) and were last year's Stanley Cup finalist (they lost 3-4 against the Boston Bruins then), now they are out, just won one game during this series (4th game). Excited to see the Kings during the next round.

St. Louis Blues (2nd) - San Jose Sharks (7th) 4:1
The Sharks just won the first game, but had no chance against the 2nd in the Western Conference during the regular season.

Phoenix Coyotes (3rd) - Chicago Blackhawks (6th) 4:2
While the first five games all went into overtime, the Coyotes won the last game 4-0 in Chicago and advanced to the next round.

Nashville Predators (4th) - Detroit Red Wings (5th) 4:1
Just kind of surprising, what happened in the first round, never thought, the Penguins, Canucks and Red Wings, wouldn't pass the first round. The Predators had an amazing goalie during the regular season and an even better one now. Pekka Rinne is just outstanding. One of the reasons the Predators moved into the next round, now facing the Phoenix Coyotes.

Notes:
3 of  4 series in the East went to 7 games, while just one game in the West went to 6, the other three just took place in 5 games/series.
It's the third elimination in round 1 or 2 for the Pittsburgh Penguins after they won the Stanley Cup 2009.
No team in the Western Conference, moving into the 2nd round ever won the Stanley Cup. In the East, only the Washington Capitals haven't won the Cup, yet.
In the East 3 of 4 teams, advancing to the next round are from the Atlantic Division (Rangers, Devils, Flyers).
Goaltending was a big issue in the Western Conference, all 4 teams, that advanced, allowed 37 goals (in 21 games) combined, meaning 1,76 goals per game, while the Pittsburgh Penguins in the East allowed 30 goals in 6 games, 5 goals per game. (Their opponent wasn't just that better, the Philadelphia Flyers allowed 26 goals, 4,33 goals/game).
First round eliminations for the last four Stanley Cup Champions: Detroit, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Boston plus Presidents' Trophy winner and last year's finalist Vancouver Canucks.
All 8 teams in the 2nd round don't have the same seed number.
Last but not least, I want to mention the German players, that had a chance to play in the first round of the playoffs. San Jose Sharks' back-up goalie Thomas Greiss just missed the second round with his team, same as Dennis Seidenberg with the Bostson Bruins and Marco Sturm und Marcel Goc, who are with the Florida Panthers.

And with that, we have the following matchups for Round 2: (starting this friday)

Eastern Conference (Semis):

New York Rangers (1st) - Washington Capitals (7th)
Philadelphia Flyers (5th) - New Jersey Devils (6th)

Western Conference (Semis):

St. Louis Blues (2nd) - LA Kings (8th)
Phoenix Coyotes (3rd) - Nashville Predators (4th)

[NOTD]When all is said and done - Penguins Nail Art - for the last time this NHL season

The Pittsburgh Penguins' season came to an early end, as they fell short to the Philadelphia Flyers in game six in the first Playoff round, last sunday. Again a year without seeing the Pens moving to the Stanley Cup finals is a bit sad, knowing the potential, that team has.
Anyways, on tuesday the team had their clean-out-day, the guys took their equipments, and left the CEC for some loooong summer holidays.
It was sad to see, that this season is finally over now. A lot of things to regret, but we also saw some great things during the regular season from the Pens. Sidney Crosby came back (twice) after his concussion and Evgeni Malkin just scored 50 goals in one season for his first time.

To cheer myself up a little bit, while thinking the next season will just start next october, I created a Penguins Nail Art for the last time this season.

Did you know, that World Penguin Day was on April 25th and that there are about 17 different species of them?
Awww, I love penguins, not just the ones from Pittsburgh, but also the real animals.

Here we go:
I just thought, I should do something with blue and silver. You know, when I hear the word penguins and it is associated with the animal, I'm always thinking of ice and water. So I just did a base with blue/turquoise by using a sponge and stamped the penguins on my thumb and the ringfinger.

What I used:

polish: left to right: Maxfactor Dazzling Blue, Essence Open Water Dive,
Absolute Nails Lara, Manhattan Only 1, back P2 being in heaven,
front essence silver twister

Basecoat: Essie Help me Grow
Topcoat: Essie Good to go
Nail Polish:
P2 Being in heaven
Manhattan Only 1
Maxfactor Dazzling Blue
Essence Open Water Dive
Absolute Nails Lara
Essence Silver Twister

Stamping Plate: HB-41










So for the start I applied one coat of Essie's Help me grow, followed be 3 coats of P2's Being in heaven, and I am still not convinced, as you can see, the polish still shows my white finger tips, and is very milky. I guess I won't use it alone. I like the color in the bottle, but if you have to apply three or more coats, that's not how it should go.
1 coat of Essie Good to go, to finish the first part of the manicure.

Then I just started so sponge some blues and greens onto my nails:
I used Manhattan Only 1, Maxfactor Dazzling Blue and Absolute Nails Lara
Additionally, I put one coat of Essence Open Water Dive onto my index, middle finger and pinky.

To finish it, I stamped two penguins onto the thumb and ring finger with image plate HB-41 and essence silver twister. Topped with a coat of Essie Good to go.

[Hockey] They all fell down - Pittsburgh Penguins lose first round series vs. Philadelphia Flyers

During Pittsburgh's 11 game winning streak in the regular season, a lot of people, me including, tought, they saw the new Stanley Cup Champion and wanted to bring the Cup to Pittsburgh without playing one game in the playoffs.
But then, the Philadelphia Flyers ended that streak, winning a game in March 3-2 in Overtime with just a second left to play (after the Pens had a 2-0 lead) and the Penguins from Pittsburgh lost their ability to play defense. Tough losses against the Ottawa Senators, who are having, by the way, a 3-2 lead in their series against the New York Rangers, and the New York Islanders (twice) showed some huge problems, 1) the Pens had to fix till the playoffs and 2) costed them the first spot in the Eastern Conference.

So the worst case scenario for the first playoff round came up, the Pens had to face their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers. Not only, that the Flyers won 4 games out of 6 during the regular season against them, no they just won 5/6 games in the Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh's home, since the arena opened it's gates in 2010 (and the only victory for the Pens was the last regular season game, not an important win, but actually they just showed that they could win on home ice against the Flyers). Definitely not the best conditions to start a best of 7 series with having the first two games at home, and 4 in total, if the series would see 7 games.

It was probably just the first game of that series, that took it away from the Penguins. After being up 3-0 after 20 Minutes, Pittsburgh lost 3-4 in overtime. They lost, once more, their defense skills and what might be more concerning, the Flyers got their first powerplay and scored, while the Pens had 3 without scoring.
It should be one of the stories in the series, that the Flyers used their powerplays (and also scored 3 shorthanded) and the lack of discipline and killing a penalty on the Penguins' side, that decided the series.
After being down 3-0 after the first three games, with an embarassing third game for the Pens in Philadelphia, not only being outscored 20-12 after 3 games, they have lost 3 men for game 4 due to suspensions.
And so the Pittsburgh Penguins were just facing the possiblity to get swept in the first round of the playoffs. The fourth game was crucial and the Pens came back. And that's not just a phrase, they did it in a convincing way, they outscored the Flyers for the first time 10-3 and forced a fifth game. But would it also be possible to force a sixth or even a seventh game?
It seemed, that they gained some momentum; made some moves within the team, by dressing 7 defensemen and 11 forwards and won game five at home 3-2. They showed some "old-school" Penguins' defense play and goaltending - like they did earlier that season and it seemed just months away, but it was quite recently, not one month ago, when the defense faltered and the problems started - in the third period.
If it was potential to win game 6, the Penguins might have had a chance to advance to round 2, but it wasn't like that. Actually, it was never close.
The Pens just missed the start, the first shift scored 32 seconds in the game for Philadelphia. Well nothing to worry about that, the team who scored first in games 1-5 hasn't won the game then, but game six was different from that point, however not from the Pens' defense play. Pittsburgh was close to be eliminated, being down 3-0 after half of the game. Trying to gain back some momentum after the 1-3, but 36 seconds later, Philadelphia scored their fourth goal and seemed like the winning team.
Not only they wanted that victory more than the Pittsburgh Penguins, you just knew it, the moment you saw the Pens' faces and their body language after the 1-4 at the bench. It was over. They fell 5-1 to the Flyers, after an empty net goal, in their last playoff appearance this season.

Maybe, it wasn't meant to be, but after the second round loss 2010 against the Montreal Canadiens, the first round loss 2011 against Tampa Bay Lightning, didn't expect much last year, with having neither captain Sidney Crosby nor Evgeni Malkin in the lineup, this year with a full lineup and all the "stars", just showed, that it might be not enough, to have the names only on paper, if they cannot produce anything. Just 3rd line center Jordan Staal, who was one of the better ones in that series (in my opinion), scored 6 goals, while Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (who had 50 goals during the regular season, but was shut down by the Flyers' rookies) had 6 goals combined.

By any chance, there will be some changes this offseason, looking for some new defensemen , or getting rid of some old ones, getting Crosby and Staal to long term contracts, but that bitter taste in my mouth after that blow out against the Flyers will remain for a longer time.

That said, the hockey season isn't over yet, not even the first round, and there is still a lot of great hockey to be played till one team will rise Lord Stanley's Cup, although, a lot of favorites faced their elimination. (New post is coming about the end of the first round and the 2nd round matchups.)

[Hockey] Something is missing: the defense - Pens lose second playoff game against the Flyers

Well, as I am from Germany, the NHL playoff games usually start really late or early. The first two games in the playoff mseries between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers just started 1:30am and it was almost 4:30 in the morning, when they ended. Thanks to ESPN America for showing the Pens' games, also the upcoming ones (Game 3: Sunday 9pm CET)
So, after last night's game, I was just awake at 5:30  and far from any sleep, just heard that the birds started to chirp outside and the sunrise wasn't far away.
To tell it at the beginning, Pens lost both games at home against the Flyers and both times in a way, I was really surprised and concerned about.

Just some quick notes and recap, didn't manage to write a continuous text, after sleeping only 2 1/2 hours last night:
- when Pittsburgh's captain Sidney Crosby scored the first goal in the first game of the playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pens had a 3-0 lead after the first period, no one ever thought, that the Penguins could blow that lead just like that and lose the first game in overtime 3-4. But they did, it was just like they stopped playing defense or at least hockey.

- so I was just waiting for a reaction the Pens had to show in the second game, the story of this game is told quickly: they started like the first game and just blew it away. Crosby scored after 15 seconds in the first period. Pens just worked on the powerplay and they scored a second goal. But nothing lasts forever. The Flyers just had a shorthanded goal (well, they had 2 in the game, their first and third) Pens answered and managed to have a 3-1 after 20 Minutes. Then they just gave it up and we had the equalizer 3-3. Pens just got another lead, 6 seconds after the Flyers scored the 2nd shorty. But lost it again, within 3 seconds to play in period 2, we were tied in 4. Pens came out strong in the 3rd period just took a 5-4 lead after 1:04 minutes. And then I don't know what happened. All seemed like a deja vu. Pens just really lost it, blew their lead away just 17 seconds later and the Flyers just took their first lead with 10 Minutes to play. The Penguins never came back. Gave it up to 5-7 and faced an empty net goal seconds before the final buzzer. Endgame 5-8.

-great starts --> weak endings

-blowing away leads (and come on, I do not mean the 4-3 and 5-4 leads, I mean the 3-0 and 3-1 leads) and losing then is the story of the Pens playoff games 2011/12

-Offense wins games, defense wins Championships. Maybe a cliché, but the truth! You can't win the playoff games and the Stanley Cup with playing no defense, like the Pittsburgh Penguins did. Defense?! We don't care about defense?!

-Sidney Crosby with 2 goals and 2 assists in 2 games. Evgeni Malkin 2 secondary assists (both on Pens' powerplay goals), you know when Tyler Kennedy (2 goals) and D-man Paul Martin (1 goal) both have more goals than Malkin in this playoff season something is clearly wrong!
-I am at least not convinced what the Penguins' first line did the 2 games. They were just shut down by the Flyers.

-Game 2: Flyers: C. Giroux 3 goals, 3 assists, S. Couturier 3 goals, 1 assist
-Both, J. Jagr and M. Talbot, who are former Pittsburgh Penguins' players (and won the Stanley Cup with them) scored in the second game.


Just wanted to make it clear, nothing is lost, it's not over till it's over, but it's going to be tough in Philadelphia for the next two games, they'll have to make a 180 to turn around. Without an improvement, there is still the chance to lose just in 4 games (getting swept by the cross-state rival is not really what you want to achieve). They have to eliminate the mistakes and get rid off their sloppy style, they're showing for a month now (sometimes, you don't recognize that, when you win 8-4, but getting 4 goals is not a great defense play) and nothing changed.
-When they have a lead, the have to keep it till the end!

Just got this from twitter. If you are interested in hockey and the Pittsburgh Penguins you should follow! 

[Hockey]NHL- the regular season is over - it´s time for the playoffs

So, last saturday was the last game day of the regular season in the NHL, and that means we are now heading to the playoffs, starting on wednesday April 11th, and that is just tomorrow!

I just wanted to give you a quick update, what matchups (best of seven mode) we are going to expect in the first round:

Eastern Conference:
New York Rangers (1st) - Ottawa Senators (8th)
Boston Bruins (2nd) - Washington Capitals (7th)
Florida Panthers (3rd) - New Jersey Devils (6th)
Pittsburgh Penguins (4th) - Philadelphia Flyers (5th)

Western Conference:
Vancouver Canucks (1st) - Los Angeles Kings (8th)
St. Louis Blues (2nd) - San Jose Sharks (7th)
Phoenix Coyotes (3rd) - Chicago Blackhawks (6th)
Nashville Predators (4th) - Detroit Red Wings (5th)

I am really excited about most of the Eastern Conference playoff games, especially the battle of Pennsylvania is going to be awesome, hopefully the Penguins could make it.
And I am also looking forward to the Blackhawks/Coyotes and Predators/Red Wings games.
It´s going to be a great April, May and June till the Stanley Cup finals.

Talking about the German players, that I mentioned in the post some days ago, we have now 4 out of 7 who will start in the playoffs (D. Seidenberg/Bruins, M. Goc + M. Sturm/Panthers, T. Greiss/Sharks). It is sad, for me, to see, that the Buffalo Sabres didn´t make it to the playoffs, it was very close, but the Capitals just managed it in game 81 to climb the final 8.

[Hockey] Imagine you win the Stanley Cup an no one knows about it - German players in the NHL

When the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in game 7 in Vancouver on June 15th 2011, I guess not many people here in Germany realized, that a German, Dennis Seidenberg was a part of that team, and was just the second German player who won the cup. (First was Uwe Krupp with the Detroit Red Wings in 1996). Although there were two German players in the Stanley Cup finals, with Christian Ehrhoff for the Vancouver Canucks, this season with the Buffalo Sabres, and Seidenberg, this players didn´t get a lot of credit, but everyone here was talking about Dirk Nowitzki and the NBA title the Dallas Mavericks just won on June 12th. Sure he was the first German to do so, but I am not sure that basketball is more important than hockey these days in Germany, a country that is obviously more focused on soccer than any other sports.
Well let´s go back to Dennis Seidenberg, not that he was just part of that team, he got one assist in game 6 the Bruins had to win to force a 7th game and he also got two assists in the final game, the Bruins won 4:0. And this year, the defending Stanley Cup winner is on the road again, just qualified for the playoffs last weekend. They are playing great hockey at the moment and I am excited to see that team in the following games and the playoffs (First round could be aganist their Division rivals the Ottawa Senators).

So let´s talk about the Germans in the NHL in general, this season we have 7 players in 4 different teams (out of 30 NHL Teams):
Boston Bruins: Dennis Seidenberg
Buffalo Sabres: Christian Erhoff, Jochen Hecht, Alexander Sulzer
Florida Panthers: Marcel Goc, Marco Sturm
San Jose Sharks: Thomas Greiss

Christian Ehrhoff is just leading the statistics (under the Germans) with 32 points in 66 games (and you have to add that he is a defenseman), unfortunately he hasn´t played since March 27th, with a knee injury and there aren´t any news when he´ll be back. Without him, it´ll be more difficult to reach the 8th place and the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
Second in this statistics is Marcel Goc from the Panthers with 23 points in 55 games, followed by Dennis Seidenberg who got 23 points in 77 games (latest news on him are that he scored the equalizer, April 1st against the New York Rangers, after missing 2 games due to an infection in a cut on his left leg, and the Bruins won that game 2:1).
Jochen Hecht is fourth with 8 points in 22 games, but made his last game January 22th and is out with an injury. Alexander Sulzer takes place 5 (6 points in 26 games) and Marco Sturm 6th (3 points in 45 games).
As Thomas Greiss is a goaltender there is no such statistics for him, but he has played 18 games this season and has a 91.4 % saving percentage.

I already mentioned, that the Bruins reached the playoffs, the other three teams have still the opportunity to reach them, especially the Panthers have a great chance to make it, leading the southeast divison. Buffalo´s chances will depend on the performance of the Washinton Capitals as both teams root for the final place (Although Washington is two points ahead, the Sabres have a game in hand, but they need to win and need to be, at least, one point in front of the Capitals after 82 games because the Caps have more wins in total and that would put them in 8th place after the regular season). While all the teams above in this paragraph are placed in the Eastern Conference, the San José Sharks are in the 8th place in Western Conference, beeing just one point ahead of place 9.

So you see, there is still a lot of hockey to play this last week of the regular season, with 7 German players, batteling with their teams for a playoff seat. And probably we will have another one int he Stanley Cup finals.

Let´s go Pens! Nail Art inspired by the NHL Team of the Pittsburgh Penguins

Although I am from Europe, I love to watch hockey from North-America and the Penguins from Pittsburgh are my favorite NHL team. As it is the beginning of April, the regular season comes soon to an end, and the playoffs are just around the corner.
Well the last week didn´t go quite as well as the weeks before, when the Pens had an 11-game winning streak. The two tough losses against the New York Islanders showed some problems they have had to deal with, especially in the defense, but they came back and won an important game in Buffalo (who was currently the hottest team in NHL with a 5 game winning streak and they are still batteling for a playoff spot). Unfortunatelly last sunday, meaning yesterday, the Pens lost the game against their cross-state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers. It was a match fought very hard, and they will have another match against each other in the regular season. Apparently that will be the last game and it will take place next saturday in Pittsburgh. (The Penguins have just 3 games left, they will play in Boston on tuesday and will face the New York Rangers (thursday) and the Flyers on home ice)
So I am very excited for the upcoming playoffs, (and that they will most likely face the Flyers in the first round, even though I am not sure, if the winner will pass another round, then)
Personally, I hope that the Penguins could make a deep run into the playoffs and hopefully they will A)reach the Stanley Cup Finals and B)raise the Cup for the 4th time in their franchise history.
Well you just know: "Because it´s the cup"!


That said, I wanted to create a Nail Art to show my support for that team and here it is:
Something in black, white and gold and of course with Penguins!

What I used:
Black polish: Manhattan 1010N
White polish: OPI Alpine Snow
Gold polish: (Applied with a sponge) essence gold rush & shiny godness

Base Coat: Essie Help me grow
Top Coat: Essie Good to go
Stamping: Image Plate HB-41

OPI Alpine Snow - Manhattan 1010N

Black&White plus some Gold: Essence goldrush & shiny godness

Stamping with HB-41

And last but not least, I wanna show you my "Playmobil" Penguins:

Just one thing left to say: Let´s go pens!

[Sport] Meine Sport Highlights vom Wochenende aka meine lange und enttäuschende Nacht von gestern

Es ist nun kurz nach 10:00 Uhr morgens und für das, dass ich erst um kurz nach 4 ins Bett bin gehts mir und meiner Erkältung blendend.

Nun zu meinen mehr oder weniger Sport-Highlights des Wochenendes:

Fußball:
Auch in der zweiten Liga wird nun wieder gespielt und leider hat die SpVgg Greuther Fürth 3:1 am Freitagabend verloren. Das wären 3 wichtige Punkte im Kampf um den Aufstieg gewesen, aber die Saison ist noch lang und es kann bis zum letzten Spieltag spannend bleiben
Am Samstag konnte der VfB Stuttgart einen Punkt im Auswärtsspiel holen und das mit dem Ausgleichstreffer kurz vor Schluss.

Biathlon:
Magdalena Neuner ist einfach unglaublich, zwei Starts in Oslo und zwei souveräne Siege! Ich freue mich sehr für sie und drücke ihr bei der WM Ende Februar die Daumen.

Handball:
Mein lokaler Handball-Verein konnte am Samstag Abend gegen den Tabellenvierten mit einem Tor zu Hause gewinnen, leider ohne mich, da ich mit meiner Erkältung nicht unbedingt in die Halle sitzen wollte, aber zumindest hat die Einstellung und die Offensivleistung in diesem Spiel wieder gestimmt!


Eishockey:
Nun, was gibt es besseres, wenn das Lieblings NHL Team, die Pittsburgh Penguins, um 19:00 Uhr abends, unserer Zeit spielt und das spiel auch noch von ESPN America übertragen wird? Richtig, wenn das Team auch noch Auswärts gewinnt.
Am Samstag Abend konnten die Penguins zwar in Boston mit 2:1 gewinnen, mussten aber am Sonntag bei den New Jersey Devils eine Niederlage hinnehmen.
Das Team präsentiert sich dennoch im allgemeinen sehr gut, muss aber immer noch auf ihren verletzten Kapitän Sidney Crosby verzichten.

NFL - Superbowl XLVI:
Ja, eigentlich mein größtes Highlight, auf das ich mich schon die ganze Woche freute und für das ich mir liebend gerne meine Nacht um die Ohren schlagen wollte.
Nun, vorweg gleich, die New England Patriots verloren 21:17 gegen die Giants aus New York.
Das Spiel begann negativ für die Patriots und so endete es auch, obwohl sie sich zwischenzeitlich mit 2 Touchdowns hintereinander absetzen konnten haben sie am Ende wohl zu Recht das Spiel verloren.
Das Einzige, was mich unterhalten konnte, waren die amerikanischen Kommentatoren bei ESPN America, denn die Halbzeitshow von Madonna hat mir leider, neben dem Endergebnis, gar nicht gefallen.

Ich wünsche euch eine schöne Woche!

[Sport] Sport Highlights vom Wochenende

Montag - 12:00 Uhr
Zeit, meine sportlichen Highlights vom Wochenende noch einmal revue passieren zu lassen.

1) Handball EM in Serbien/Lokaler Handballverein SG Lauter:
Die deutsche Mannschaft konnte in ihrem ersten Hauptrundengruppenspiel 21:21 gegen Serbien spielen, durch ein Last Minute Tor sicherte sich Deutschland einen wichtigen Punkt und hat weiterhin alle Möglichkeiten, ins Halbfinale zu kommen und sich ein begehrtes Ticket für ein Qualifikationsturnier für die Olympischen Spiele zu sichern.
Deutschland spielt heute Abend 18:20 (live im ZDF) gegen Dänemark!
Frankreich konnte gestern Abend ebenfalls gewinnen (28:26 gegen Slowenien) und somit haben die Franzosen immer noch die Minimalchance ins Halbfinale der EM einzuziehen. Leider spielen die Franzosen alles andere als überzeugend, man könnte schon sagen, dass es ziemlich enttäuschend ist, wie sich der amtierende Europa-, Weltmeister und Olympiasieger präsentiert.

Leider konnte die SG Lauter keinen Erfolg am gestrigen Abend feiern, was genau passiert ist, steht hier

2) Biathlon Weltcup in Antholz (ITA):
Nachdem Magdalena Neuner den Sprint am Donnerstag für sich entscheiden konnte, gelang ihr gestern Nachmittag im 12,5 km Massenstart ein dritter Platz.
Es stimmt mich immer etwas traurig, dass sie nach dieser Saison aufhört.
Am Samstag konnte Andreas Birnbacher den Massenstart der Männer für sich entscheiden.
Es scheint so, als seien die deutschen Starter gut drauf und so hoffe ich, dass sie diese Leistung bis zur WM in Ruhpolding halten können.

3) Fußball:
Die Rückrunde ging dieses Wochenende wieder los, der VfB Stuttgart hat in auf Schalke mit 1:3 verloren. Dafür ist es an der Tabellenspitze sehr eng, Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund und Schalke 04 im Moment alle mit jeweils 37 Punkten.
Zudem konnte das Frauenfußballteam der USA ihre zwei ersten Spiele im Quali-Turnier für Olympia gewinnen (14:0 gegen die Dominikanische Republik, 13:0 gegen Guatemala). Am 24.1. geht es nun gegen Mexiko, ein Spiel, welches wohl eine erste Bewährungsprobe für die USA sein wird. Da das deutsche Team bei den Olympischen Spielen nicht dabei sein wird, drücke ich den US -Girls die Daumen, dass sie es nach London schaffen werden.
EDIT: Die US-Amerikanerinnen sowie die Kanadierinnen werden bei den Olympischen Spielen aus Nord-/Mittelamerika dabei sein.

4)Tennis/ Australian Open:
Mein Lieblingsspieler Roger Federer, aus der Schweiz, ist gestern ins Viertelfinale eingezogen. Dabei hat er eine, über weite Strecken, ziemlich Überzeugende Leistung hingelegt.
Ich bin mal gespannt, wie er sich nun gegen den Argentinier Juan Martin Del Potro schlagen wird.

5) Eishockey:
Yay, scheint, als würde mein NHL Liebling, die Pittsburgh Penguins, wieder in die Erfoglsspur zurück finden, sie feierten am Wochenende ihren  6. Sieg in Folge, nachdem sie zuvor 6 Niederlagen hintereinander einstecken mussten. So sieht dies für die Playoffs wieder besser aus, da es jetzt 7 Punkte auf einen nicht-Playoff-Platz sind. GO PENS!

6) Football:
Mein größtes Highlight des Wochenendes war letzte Nacht, als es um den Einzug in den Superbowl ging. Die New England Patriots mussten gegen die Baltimore Ravens antreten und konnten das Spiel 23:20 gewinnen, für mich hatten sie am Ende mehr Glück als Verstand, als den Ravens kein Touchdown mehr gelang und der Field Goal Versuch, und damit das Erzwingen einer OT, wenige Sekunden vor Schluss, vorbei ging. Zudem hoffe ich auf eine Leistungssteigerung des Star Quarterbacks Tom Brady!
Am 5.2. spielen die New England Patriots im Superbowl in Indianapolis gegen die New York Giants, die bei den San Francisco 49ers mit 17:20 in der OT gewinnen konnten.
GO PATS!