NHL Playoffs Operating With Deadly Efficiently

Dashiell Bennett|published: 04/23/2009, 10:40am EDT

Two first-round series have been quickly dispatched and two more could end tonight, raising hopes that playoff deadwood will be dealt with swiftly and painlessly.

Boston brushed Montreal aside to complete their sweep last night and will see the second-round for the first time in 10 years. (Oh boy! More sports triumphs for Boston!) Meanwhile, we've already forgotten who the Canucks beat 4-0, Columbus neglected to set their alarm clocks for the Detroit series, and Pittsburgh will attempt to put Philadelphia back into its misery tonight. Let's dust our hands of this and be done with it.

It's not that I support boring, uncompetitive routs. It's just that when lousy teams make the playoffs, and is their wont, it's best to eliminate them as smoothly as possible. Of course, that doesn't explain how the Capitals have lost three games to the Rangers. There's still a couple of competitive matchups left—if the Sharks decide to keep trying, for instance—so your Versus subscription won't be a total loss.

Playoff Scoreboard [NHL.com]