NHL Playoff Hockey Observations -- It's a Whole New Series

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Published on June 4, 2010

Just a few things that caught my eye:

Antti Niemi may have let in four goals but he was the Hawks' best player Friday night. I'm not sure what the score would have been without the fancy Finn.

Chris Pronger wins the Conn Smythe if the Flyers take the Cup. He dominates the play, the heads of his opponents and the scorecard for cheap crap. Like chipping the ice to buy his team time while the linesmen had to fix it. I still can't stand him but he's brilliant. And he gets away with it.

Duncan Keith wins the Conn Smythe if the Hawks take the Cup. Iso on the guy if you get the chance -- I'm more and more impressed with each passing game.

Philly has two special weapons -- Kate Smith channeling God Bless America and Sign Man. Dave Leonard is 61 years young and has been a season ticket holder since 1972. He brings a portfolio of 100 signs to each game; he even has them organized in a special carrying case with topic-based dividers. He always has the perfect sarcastic, caustic or funny comment at exactly the right time. And he has another 300 signs at home. Geez, I wish I had that much time on my hands -- what about you?

Did you get the feeling that the Hawks simply kept hitting the snooze button for the first two periods? The wake-up in the third may be carried over to Game 5. Or maybe not.

Michael Leighton was finally the difference maker. He does it again and we all know what happens.

Why is it that everyone seems to forget that the Flyers were tagged as Cup favorites in a lot of preseason commentary? These guys are damn good -- not as good skill-wise as the Hawks but very good nonetheless.