The first week of the 2012 NHL Playoffs have been intense to say the least.  We have some some crazy stuff on the ice.  Pretty much every series has had some “stuff” go down.  The Flyers / Penguins series has lived up to its billing.  Who would have thought that both the Penguins and the Canucks would be down 3-0 in their respective series?

We thought that it would be fun to countdown the top 10 moments of the first week of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Welcome to the Gong Show.

Top 10 Moments of the First Week of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs

1. The Meltdown of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins – the first three games of this series have been intense and totally unpredictable.  Who would have thought that the Flyers would be up 3-0?  While we picked the Flyers to win in seven games from our fan perspective playoff predictions, but we never thought that the Flyers would score 8 goals in back to back games.   Game three was a classic.  The Penguins lost it, Sidney Crosby lost it and Marc-Andre Fleury never had it.  The Penguins have three hearings scheduled with the NHL on Tuesday with fines and suspensions to be levied.  In case you missed it, here are some of the shenanigans from game three:
   
   
2. Ottawa Senators Carkner goes after Rangers’ Boyle – the Senators sent a message to the Rangers that they will not be pushed around.  Check out this mayhem that broke out as Matt Carkner goes after the Rangers’ Brian Boyle in retaliation to an incident involving Sens D-Man Erik Karlsson.
   
3. The Play of Jonathen Quick and the Los Angeles Kings – up three games to none on the league leading Vancouver Canucks.  Quick has been outstanding and the Kings are thriving under the coaching of Daryl Sutter.
4. The Florida Panthers earn their first playoff victory in 15 years – when the Panthers won in game two of their series vs the New Jersey Devils, it was the Panthers’ first playoff win in 5,478 days, since topping the New York Rangers 3-0 in 1997.
5. Lack of Suspension to Predators Shea Weber – Shea Weber escaped suspension after driving Henrik Zetterberg’s head into the glass in Game 1 of the Nashville-Detroit series earning only a $2500 fine.  What looked more like a Saturday night wrestling move as opposed to a smart hockey play, Weber drove Zetterberg`s head into the glass.  Is it me or is everyone amped up for the playoffs.
6. Phoenix, San Jose and Nashville with series opening wins – great to see these teams open the 2012 NHL playoffs win a win.
7. Claude Giroux set team record with six points – Philadelphia Flyers forward, Claude Giroux continues to establish himself as an elite player in the league with a 3 goal, 3 assist performance in game two as the Flyers beat the Pens 8-5.
8. Los Angeles Kings Captain, Dustin Brown`s game three performance vs Canucks – Dustin Brown was a monster in game three.  He laid a huge (and clean) hit on Canucks`Henrik Sedin knocking Sedin to the ice and out of the game temporarily.  He then went on to score the only goal of the game as the Kings took a commanding three games to nil lead in the series.
9. The overall gong show of the various first round matchups – Flyers/Pens, Blues/Sharks, Preds/Wings, Sens/Rangers are intense.  From brawls to cheap shots to cross checks, head slams, coach fines etc etc, the playoffs are underway in a manner that I have not seen in years.
10. Captain Serious, Johnathan Toews scores a goal in his first game back after missing 22 games with a suspected concussion – Toews is a true leader on the ice.  A tremendous talent and great player who made an immediate impact in his first game in a few months.