MHH Playoffs Live Thread! April 11, 2012

Hey all! Cheryl and I plan to run live threads every night there's playoff hockey. We'll be featuring one game in particular each night, based on various factors, and Cheryl will be live-tweeting on @MileHighHockey as always. Not that other games aren't welcome for discussion, of course. What would MHH be if it were on topic? Crack one open and join us, won't you?

Game of the Night - #5 Philadelphia Flyers at #4 Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 1, 7:30 Eastern, NBC Sports & TSN

What else could it be before any games actually start if not the most hyped, and deservedly so, matchup? You've got Zombie Sidney Crosby resurrected from the land of the concussed to the tune of 37 points in 22 games and that just makes me want to be sick, you've got NHL points leader Evgeni Malkin, you've got the underratedly hilarious Marc-Andre Fleury, and you've got Dan Bylsma's hat. On the other side, you've got Zombie Jaromir Jagr resurrected from the KHL, you've got Claude Giroux, you've got the also-hilarious Ilya Bryzgalov (you've all seen his cosmological perspective by now), and you've got Peter Laviolette, whose timeouts are things of lore and legend.

Oh, and I hear these two teams don't like each other or something. Anyone know anything about that?

The Other Early Game - #5 detroit red wings Presented By Amway at #4 Nashville Predators, Game 1, 8:00 Eastern, CNBC & CBC

Watch for Shea Weber's beard. Watch for future Av Ryan Suter. Watch to boo the enemy. Watch for Carrie Underwood. Watch if you're Mike or Mrs. These teams split the season series with 3 regulation wins apiece, which is kind of shocking to be honest. What's a division game that doesn't go to overtime? Anyone in the Pacific Division know, ya jerks? >:l Not a whole lot in terms of new news here except that Ryan Suter thinks he's a wise guy, eh?, yanks around the media and doesn't afraid of anything.

The Late Game - #8 Los Angeles Kings at #1 Vancouver Canucks, Game 1, 10:30 Eastern, NBC Sports & CBC

This one may be more about who's out than who's in. Jeff Carter is slated to return from his ankle injury, but Brad Richardson had an emergency appendectomy on Monday and will be unavailable. Concussed Canuck Daniel Sedin missed practice yesterday; it's anyone's guess as to whether he'll make a miraculous comeback and play tonight (unless they announced it after I wrote this), but his dad doesn't seem to think so. Watch to see who dives more. Watch to see whether LUUUUUU is a cheer or a jeer. Watch because Quick might steal any given game if he can get just one goal of help. Season series: LA (2-2-0), Vancouver (2-1-1).

Team SBN sites for those who are so inclined:
PensBurgh (Penguins)
Broad Street Hockey (Flyers)
On the Forecheck (Predators)
Nucks Misconduct (Canucks)
Jewels from the Crown (Kings)