Do or Die Night - Sharks and Flames Face Elimination

It's an intriguing night of hockey in the Western Conference as both the Calgary Flames and the regular season power house San Jose Sharks look to extend their post season with a win tonight against their respectful clubs. In what has been a frustrating playoff performance from both teams, they now must kick the team into high gear and force the Game 7.

The Calgary Flames have found out today that Dion Phaneuf, who has notched 3 assists and a +2 thus far in the series, will sit out tonight's game after bumping heads with Troy Brouwer in Game 5. This is a significant blow to the Flames blueline as they are already missing Robyn Regehr to a knee injury. Thankfully, the Flames will be playing at home tonight and will have to call upon their fan base to chime in some much needed energy to push this one to Game 7.

The Sharks were the leagues best team heading into the post-season, but for some reason (consider it a curse) the Sharks just can't seem to find a way to get it done in the playoffs. Down 3-2 in the opening round to the 8th seeded Ducks, the Sharks find themselves facing elimination for the second straight game and hope to avoid it once again with a win tonight on the road. That said, the Ducks are by no means a terrible team. In fact, the teams who placed 2nd to even as much as 4th have had an easier opening team to play against than the Sharks have landed in the Ducks.

Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau will be called upon once again to push this series and get a win, for anything less than a series victory is a failure on the season and on behalf of the leaders of this team. The Sharks have come and gone from the playoffs for far too long without making it to the Finals, and that is certainly not what this organization wishes to see again this time around. Simply being a difficult team to beat in the playoffs is not what this team has longed for. If they want the cup badly, they'll have to pay the price to get there, starting with a physical, grinding game tonight on the road.

I'll be covering the Flames/Blackhawks on TheScore tonight. Tune into TheScore's liveblogs for more details.

Micheal Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com

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Hawks and Habs Pre-Game

The Blackhawks and Canadiens will battle it out tonight in a matchup that features some former teammates. Carey Price, who skated alongside Johnathan Toews in the World Juniors, will get the nod in net for the Habs, while the former Red, Blue and White, Cristobal Huet, will get the start for the Blackhawks.

Montreal needs the win tonight to stay ahead of the Sabres and Panthers who are creeping up on them for the 8th seed. Any point tonight for the Habs will also knock off the Maple Leafs officially from post-season contention - a feat the Leafs pulled on the Habs just 2 seasons ago. Montreal is just 1 point ahead of the 9th placed Panthers, but they do have a game on hand; a game they need to put to good use tonight against the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks, on the other hand, are currently tied in points (91) with the 5th placed Vancouver Canucks, with a game on hand as well. They, too, will look to put it to good use tonight and maintain a position of home-ice advantage in the playoffs. Their recent game against the Canucks was a physical and emotional game that saw a lot of frustration from both sides and a few fights.

If the playoffs were to start today, the Hawks would face Vancouver in the first round, while Montreal would meet Boston - their first round original six rivals from last year's post-season, but instead of the Habs on top, it would be the Bruins.

It's starting to shape up for some great first round series'. I, for one, am counting the days.

You can follow the liveblog with me, tonight, on The Score. Tune in for some great hockey discussion, a great game, and a whole lot of awesome.

Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com

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