First-round analysis: Check your helmet, the hits keep coming

Week 1 of the NHL playoffs is now done. Here's a look at what's happened so far in each series.

East

Carey Price has stoned the Bruins at age 20. (Getty Images)

The Bruins have actually been able to play their game more than the Canadiens have played theirs, but Montreal has toughed out the wins and is looking to wrap things up Thursday at home.

After being caught flat-footed in the first two minutes of the series, Boston effectively neutralized the Canadiens speed while all but shutting down their league-best power play. Bruins goalie Tim Thomas and center Marc Savard have had very strong rounds, but the problems the Bruins had scoring goals this season have re-appeared and that's why they are on the verge of elimination.

Montreal's offense has clearly struggled as well, but 20-year-old rookie netminder Carey Price has been outstanding and, unlike Boston, the Canadiens have managed to get the big goals when they needed them.

This series was over before it started, and the Senators, whose ship has been sinking for the last few months, seemed to know it. Ottawa has gone through some motions of course, and might even save some face by beating the Penguins on Wednesday to extend the series. But this is a done deal made relatively easy by the Senators. Some credit obviously goes to the young Penguins, who have matured before our very eyes against a team that schooled them last spring. You know Pittsburgh has beaten down Ottawa in every aspect of the game when Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa each had six points in the first three games, yet none were among Pittsburgh's top goal scorers. Meanwhile, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and the defense have been extremely sharp, and the Penguins are getting important physical contributions from fourth-liners Gary Roberts and Georges Laraque.

Pittsburgh is focused and confident and getting more so with each passing game. Ottawa did get an emotional lift when captain Daniel Alfredsson was able to play in Game 3, but it wasn't enough because the Senators have been too fragile to stay with the Penguins over 60 minutes. Their misery will end soon and lead to a lot of soul searching this summer within the organization.

The Flyers only have a narrow lead in this series, but they've dominated the Capitals in all but one of the nine periods played so far. That would be the final 20 minutes of the opener in Washington, and it was enough for an emotional Capitals team to steal a win.

Alex Ovechkin's brilliant winning goal that night made him the hero he's expected to be, but Philadelphia has since limited his impact by making his linemates Nicklas Backstrom and Viktor Kozlov disappear. That's been the biggest problem for the Caps in the series.

Actually, Philadelphia's shutdown tactics have been superb overall because the Flyers have kept Washington to 44 shots over the last two games while putting 74 on Caps goalie Cristobal Huet, who has been vulnerable. But Philadelphia's best defenseman Kimmo Timonen was hurt late in Game 3 and his absence will be noticeable if he can't return.

Still Philadelphia's offense, lead by Daniel Briere's sizzling line, has been opportunistic and goalie Martin Biron has been as good as he's had to be, so the Flyers are in the driver's seat.

This has been a tight and generally well-played series by both teams, but the game stories were eclipsed by Sean Avery's method of trying to distract Devils goalie Martin Brodeur in Game 3. The Rangers forward stared down Brodeur and rotated his stick high in front of the goalie's face, an action that went un-penalized, but prompted the NHL to issue a warning about similar behavior while issuing a clarification of its unsportsmanlike conduct rule.

Meanwhile Avery was agitating New Jersey in other ways, with three goals including the winner in Game 2. Scott Gomez was a major offensive force for the Rangers as well, and Jaromir Jagr played with a purpose while goalie Henrik Lundqvist was very much on his game.

The Devils offensive troubles aren't a secret, but they were compounded in this series because Brodeur struggled in the first two games at New Jersey. As much as anything, that's why the Devils are going into Game 4 Wednesday trailing. Brodeur allowed bad goals at critical times in each game at home, but recovered nicely when the scene shifted to Madison Square Garden and gave his team a chance to get back in the series.

WEST

Dominik Hasek has been showing his age in the first round. (US Presswire)

At times in this series, the Red Wings have looked the 24 standings points they were better than the Predators this season, just not as many as one might think. And yet were it not for a third period breakdown in Game 3, Detroit would have the Predators in a stranglehold heading into Wednesday's game.

The Predators haven't been pushovers by any means, but the Red Wings have let them stay in the series by blowing 2-0 leads in consecutive games thanks to some disturbingly questionable goaltending by Dominik Hasek. Still the Predators have worked hard, and that has helped offset the many weapons at Detroit's disposal.

However it's been particularly difficult for Nashville to penetrate a Red Wings defense that allows fewer shots than anybody, and so Hasek hasn't had to be nearly as sharp as his rookie counterpart Dan Ellis.

Good thing, too, because at 43, Hasek isn't what he used to be, and he's giving up goals he shouldn't at the wrong time. At the other end, Ellis hasn't gotten as much key support from key players, but he's done a nice job of keeping the Predators in games and in this series.

San Jose was supposed to be locked and loaded for a Stanley Cup run when this round began, but the Flames immediately caused some doubt by coming into the Sharks' tank and earning a win in the opener. It quickly brought back memories of recent playoff disappointments for the Sharks, but the teams had to play again the next night and San Jose bounced back behind the shutout goaltending of Evgeni Nabokov.

Since then the momentum has continued to shift thanks to comeback wins by each team in the subsequent games. What's left is a best-of-three series between teams unable to hold an edge very long.

The Flames have been trying to wear down the Sharks through poundings whenever possible, and a couple of big hits against San Jose captain Patrick Marleau in Game 3 helped Calgary overcome a three-goal deficit to win. But a big factor in their two wins has been the impact of veterans like Owen Nolan, Stephane Yelle and backup goalie Curtis Joseph.

San Jose has been looking for its veterans too, but youngster Ryane Clowe has been the offensive star with four goals. Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo did help engineer a desperate late comeback in Game 4, which gives the Sharks hope that their best players are again on the verge of being their best players.

The Northwest Division was the NHL's tightest, so a first-round series between two of its teams figured to be one where no one gives an inch. And it has played out that way. The Wild and Avs have split the games in each other's buildings and the first three games went into overtime.

Although Colorado managed a blowout win in Game 4 at home to even the series, the Wild played like a team that was happy knowing it was going back to its building tied. In the previous games, Minnesota had managed to take control by dominating the third periods against the older Avs, but since all went into OT, Colorado managed to win one of them.

The Avs have gotten the kind of goaltending they've hoped for from Jose Theodore, who is in a contract year, and their offensive success has come whenever it can get a cycle going because veterans Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk still have their touches around the net. But Minnesota's goalie Niklas Backstrom has been just as good, and the Wild's defense, which is missing key players, has played well as a unit. And Minnesota's extra jump late in games has been tough on Colorado, often allowing the Wild to turn quick transitions into chances.

Still there's been little to choose between them so far and no reason to believe this won't go seven games.

The Stars pulled off the biggest shock of the first week by winning two road games against reigning Stanley Cup champion Anaheim. And neither of them were close.

Dallas let the Ducks take themselves out of games with a series of unnecessary penalties that resulted in five power-play goals for the Stars during the two nights. Anaheim didn't have much of anything going for it in either game, but by allowing the Stars so many power-play chances, they made their fate inevitable. Particularly since goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere wasn't very good.

Stars goalie Marty Turco was. But there is a reason Anaheim won the Stanley Cup and it showed when the series shifted to Dallas. The Ducks were able to control their aggression enough to stay out of the penalty box, but were still physical and separated Stars defensemen from pucks to create scoring chances. It's the game Anaheim plays best and the first time it showed in this series.

However Anaheim couldn't sustain the pace, and Dallas started chipping away at the lead toward the end. The Stars fell short, but their adjustments were starting to work and they still have the advantage in this series.