GRAND LAKES… The greatest hockey tourney on the planet is going full steam ahead  and there have been some surprises thus far, but by and large the Stanley Cup tournament is going as about expected and that is to expect the unexpected. In both the professional and the college game, in my 50 years plus of being in or around the game, and in the past 7 seasons of being a fan only, the word “parity” cannot be overemphasized. I have truly never seen the game at this level, and whether you are discussing a Frozen Four or the National Hockey League, it is tough to pick game or series winners. But lets take a quick snapshot of each series at this point…

WILD versus BLUES; series 1-1 going into tonight’s tilt (04/20) in St. Paul. The Wild startled a lot of Blues fans by going into the Gateway City and winning Game 1. For me I didn’t see it as that surprising. If the Blues play their “heavy” game, the Wild can bounce off of that as the Habs did in beating the Bruins last season. Not only that but the Wild can hit too, and their possession game might be superior to the Blues. After going up 3-1 on a Mikael Granlund ENG, the Blues scored to make it 3-2 and then Jason Pominville got another ENG to make it a 4-2 final. Granny’s goal turned out to be the GWG.

In Game 2 the Blues played a very strong 1st period, taking a 2-0 lead into the 2nd. Early in the 3rd Marco Scandella scored to make it 2-1. At this time I thought that the Blues were better in the 1st then the Wild with more offensive zone push, I thought the 2nd was a bit more even, but was a muddled period due to officiating and I thought the Wild had the better of it in the 3rd but didn’t finish on some offensive opportunity that could have won the game for them and sent them home up 2-0 in the series. However, Patrick Berglund delivered the dagger at 18:02 to go up 3-1. With 17 seconds left Vladimir Tarasenko got an ENG to complete his hat trick and the scoring and the series was tied up.

Obviously the Wild, who once owned Xcel Home ice in terms of won-loss record have had an indifferent record there (4-5-1 L10) in the recent past. If they can regain that dominance, they can propel themselves toward a series win. Here’s hoping they do….

MON versus OTT; series 3-0. The Habs have built up a commanding 3-0 lead after last night’s 2-1OT thriller in the Canadian Capital. Dale Weise got both markers for the Habs in the win. This series was filled with drama from the start with a slash on the Sens sensation Mark Stone by PK Subban early in Game 1. Make no mistake, it was a bonafide slash by Subban, who should know better, (he got 5 and a game for it) but then the next 3 days of hand wringing and posturing by the Sens was a bit much too. I was waiting for the Sens to announce funeral arrangements for their young budding star. I am also curious why Sens bench boss Dave Cameron decided to replace the iconic goalie Andrew Hammond with veteran Craig Anderson for Game 3. Coach, dance with who “brung” ya….  
 
NYR versus PIT; series 1-1. the Rangers jumped on the Pens in Game 1 and took a quick 2-0 lead and had to hang on for a 2-1 win. Since then the Pens have had the better of the play, taking Game 2 by a score of 4-3. If the Pens can get a few more players going, the Rangers could be in trouble, especially with the series in PITT now….

DET versus TAMPA; series 1-1.  The Wings went into Tampa and stole Game 1 with a 3-2 win. I felt strongly that the Wings could split there and try to take an upper hand in the series at home, with the Bolts not as good on the road this year. (18-16-7) But then the Bolts spanked the Wings in Game 2 by a 5-1 tally. That was a statement….

CHI versus NASH; series 2-1 Hawks. The Hawks had a lethargic start in Game 1, going down 3-0 after 1 period before rallying to win 4-3 in 2OT. They got handled in Game 2 in a 6-2 drubbing by the Preds. The Hawks took Game 3 by 4-2 with usual starting goalie Corey Crawford on the bench watching CHI area native Scott Darling notch the victory. Game 4? The Hawks new Darling is getting the start…

ANA versus WINN; series 2-0 Duck. This eve will be the 1st time NHL playoff hockey has been in Winnipeg since 1996. Games 3 and 4 ducats were sold out in 5 minutes. Game interest isn’t high, it’s nuclear feverish. Please note that the Jets led both games going into the 3rd period out in Orange County, with Game 2 being decided with 21 seconds to go. I still like the Jets, but taking 4 of 5 games from the Duck will be monumental. They needed to get a split out in Cali….

VAN versus CAL; series 2-1 Flames. This series has seen some hotly contested games so far with Games 2 and 3 featuring some old time fighting and intimidation tactics being employed late in each tilt. The “stuff” at the end of Game 2 earned Flame Coach Bob Hartley a $50K fine. When they play hockey the Flames youth and enthusiasm is besting the Canucks who may not be getting the goaltending they’ll need to advance. I picked the Flames and am sticking with that….

WASH versus NYI; series 2-1 Isles. The Isles limped through the last couple of months of the regular season and there were times when the Capitals looked unstoppable. But then the Isles up and took Game 1 in DC quite decisively by 4-1. The Caps tightened up in the second tilt to win 4-3. The Isles were all over the Caps on Sunday to end up with a 2-1 OT win on a John Tavares tally 15 second into OT. If the Isles win Game 4.….

CONGRATS TO MY Nephews wife Ali Elliott on her Boston Marathon finish!! She notched a 3:46 time and Dude Elliott Junier’ said he froze his patootie off! Congrats to you ALI! PEACE

Marc Elliott is a sports opinion writer who splits his time between his hometown in Illinois and Minnesota