Wednesday May 30

As the days are now numbered for the NHL the Ducks are playing like champions. After a magical come-from-behind win in Game 1 set a tone for play at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Game 2 was about shutting down Ottawa's offense which is just what the Ducks did on Wednesday night. Anaheim pulled off a last minute 1-0 victory of the Senators to take the series lead 2-0. Focus now shifts to Ottawa where a Stanley Cup Final game has not been played since 1927. So many questions remain unanswered as of yet both large and small. Can the offensive powerhouses of Ottawa find their lost scoring touch? Can the Ducks bring the Cup back to the West Coast for the first time since 1925? Is Ray Emery working this hard for nothing? Can a Canadian team finally win the Cup back? On Wednesday night defensive forward Samuel Pahlsson scored the biggest goal of his career with 5:44 remaining in regulation. What will happen? Stay tuned to FIW for the Stanley Cup updates.

Monday May 28: First Game of Finals

Without the Islanders, or even Former Islanders, the world of hockey is a lot blander. With that out of the way, the NHL lumbers on and Monday night was the first night of Stanley Cup Final action between the Eastern champion Ottawa Senators and the Western champion Anaheim Ducks. The match, opening in SoCal for the first 2 games, was hotly and tightly contested. When all was said and done the Ducks had edged the Sens 3-2 to take a 1-0 series lead. Travis Moen netted the game winner with only 2:51 remaining in the third after the Ducks rallied from two 1 goal deficits. Play resumes Wednesday night with Game 2 at the Honda Center.

Tuesday May 22

With the Anaheim Ducks staring their second Stanley Cup Final berth in the face they did not disappoint. Despite nearly blowing a late 3 goal lead the Ducks pulled off the 4-3 win at home over the Detroit Redwings. With the win the Ducks took the series 4 wins to 2. For the second straight game it was hard to find Former Islander Todd Bertuzzi anywhere. Here is a look at the FI numbers:

• Bertuzzi's ice time was slashed for a consecutive night as he clocked only 13:00 in total ice time. He managed 2 shots on goal and finished -1 on the game. In sum he finished the playoffs with a modest 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in 16 games. He logged 15 penalty minutes, 1 powerplay goal and assist apiece, 24 shots and finished -2 overall.

• With the exit of the Redwings there are officially no Former Islanders left in the chase for the Cup.

• Despite the best efforts of Dominik Hasek is a disappointment that the Redwing coaching staff decided never to start or even let Chris Osgood play. Osgood was unbeatable in regulation since the beginning of January. But then again, Hasek is the goalie of the future, right? With one of the oldest goaltending tandems in the league it seems the wheels were eventually going to fall off of this final line of defense. All we have to say is: poor Ozzie.

• A rare moment in hockey history will occur when the Ottawa Senators or Anaheim Ducks hoist the Stanley Cup in the ensuing week or so. The league will crown its 3rd first time winning franchise in a row (Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Ducks/Sens). There haven't been this many first time winners in a row since 1914-1918 when the Toronto Blueshirts, Vancouver Millionaires, Montreal Canadiens, Seattle Metropolitans and Toronto Arenas all won in a row. Those winners spanned 3 different hockey championship formats! The Blueshirts won in the waning days of the Champions Cup, while the middle three won in the age of the shortlived NHA-PCHA championship and the Arenas were the first winner in the equally shortlived NHL-PCHA era.

Check back soon as the Stanley Cup Final kicks off on Monday night.

Sunday May 20

Just as the Former Islanders make a reappearance they can disappear in the blink of an eye just the same. That is the story of Todd Bertuzzi who failed to make an tangible appearance in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final after scoring 3 points in his previous 2 games. The Detroit Redwings dropped the game, at home, 2-1 in OT to the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks now lead the series 3-2. Here is a look at the numbers for Bertuzzi:

• Bertuzzi clocked only 12:01 of ice time while going +1 with 1 shot on goal.

• More surprising than that, for us here at FIW, is the complete lack of playing time for Chris Osgood, a tender who hasn't lost in regulation since early January. But, whatever.

Check back soon as we near the Stanley Cup Finals. Thank you, from FIW.

Saturday May 19

Play resumed on Saturday afternoon as the Ottawa Senators looked to wrap up their series against the President's Trophy winning Buffalo Sabres in 5 games and secure a Stanley Cup Final berth for the first time in franchise history. They did just that with a 3-2 OT win Buffalo. Despite blowing a late 2-1 lead late in the third, Daniel Alfredsson vaulted his Sens into the final round with a wrister that bounced off a defenseman's stick and just in the post at the 9:32 mark of the overtime frame. A lot of lucky bounces and lucky timing have made the Senators the hottest team of this playoff cycle as they have compiled a 12-3 record defeating each of the first three teams they have faced in 5 games. For FIW it was a sad day as the corps of FI loses one of the last hopes in the form of Sabre Tim Connolly. Here is a look at the numbers from Connolly's perspective:

• In 19:57 of ice time Connolly managed 2 shots on goal, nothing more, nothing less. Despite that, Connolly had a good playoff run scoring 9 points (all assists) in 16 contests. Connolly was vital in helping to score a couple of huge goals in these 3 rounds, including an assist on the game winner in Buffalo's only victory of the series.

• With the teams remaining there are only 2 FIs left with a chance for Stanley Cup glory. Those players are Todd Bertuzzi and Chris Osgood of the Detroit Redwings. As mentioned in prior posts, Bertuzzi has 7 points in 14 games this postseason and Chris Osgood has yet to clock a minute of ice time as Dominik Hasek is expectedly dominating the net.

Check back soon as the Redwings and Ducks face off on Sunday afternoon. As always, thanks for checking in with FIW for all your playoff/Former Islander updates.

Thursday May 17

With Game 4 up for grabs in the Western Conference Final and the Anaheim Ducks facing a 2-1 series deficit without there top defenseman for the night things looked rather bleak. But despite blowing a 2 goal lead the Ducks edged the Detroit Redwings at home 5-3 on Thursday night to knot the series up at 2 wins a piece. Play resumes in Detroit on Sunday afternoon. For the lone Former Islander things looked up as Todd Bertuzzi played a vital role in the Detroit resurgence midway through the game, albeit the effect was short-lived. Bertuzzi had 2 points on the night. Here is an in depth look from the FI perspective:

• Bertuzzi cut the Duck lead to 3-2 with a powerplay tally 7:48 into the second period. The goal, his 3rd of the playoffs, was his first with the man advantage in the postseason since April 21, 2002 against none other than the Redwings in a first round matchup with his former Vancouver Canucks. Bertuzzi then added an assist on a powerplay goal less than 8 minutes later to temporarily tie the game at 3. The powerplay assist was his first since April 29, 2003 when the Canucks were in a second round set with the Minnesota wild. With 3 points in his last 2 games Bertuzzi's play has really kicked into high gear. In 14 games this postseason Bertuzzi now has 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points.

Play is off on Friday and resumes Saturday afternoon as the Ottawa Senators look to eliminate the Buffalo Sabres in a surprisingly low 5 games. Check back for all your updates on FIW.

Wednesday May 16

Buffalo is safe for at least one more night. The Sabres pulled off a squeaker, 3-2 win, before a sold out crowd against the host Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night. The series, though barely closer, is now a 3-1 advantage for the Sens. Much as Todd Bertuzzi made a reappearance act on Tuesday in the Redwings win, Tim Connolly made a little FI wave with a big point in tonight's matchup. Here is a quick look at the Former Islander happening of the night:

• Connolly was credited with the primary assist on Buffalo's game winner at the 8:06 mark of the second period. The point, his second of the series, is his 9th of the playoffs (all assists) in 15 games. On the night, Connolly had 19:21 of ice time with a +2 rating and 2 shots on goal.

Check back soon as Detroit seeks to grab a commanding lead in the Western Conference series on Thursday night, while Anaheim looks to make the series interesting again. As always, Former Islander Watch.