NHL playoffs hit May

The excitement Canadiens' fans had after going up 2-0 on the road is sharply diminished, now being down 3-2 to Carolina. Game 6 is at the Bell Centre Tuesday night.

It's probably not a coincidence that since Canadiens captain Saku Koivu left the series with a serious left eye injury, Montreal hasn't won.

If Montreal can't pull it off, Ottawa plays either the Sabres or the Flyers. Buffalo leads Philadelphia 3-2 in that series.

In the Western Conference, we have an intriguing television choice Monday night. There are only two games, but neither of them are in the Eastern half of the country. I have had great difficulty getting a starting time for Detroit at Edmonton and Calgary at Anaheim. What the NHL/OLN is doing is not clear at all. At this point, the CBC is reporting Detroit at Edmonton airs at 8 p.m. EDT; I have seen 10 p.m. EDT elsewhere. Calgary at Anaheim finally has a starting time of 11 p.m. EDT. The Red Wings-Oilers will be at 6 p.m. local time and the Flames-Mighty Ducks airs at 8 p.m. local time. At least in that scenario, you can watch both.

Having the two games overlap would have been cruel, especially for those in Alberta. Whether you root for Edmonton or Calgary, you have to want these two teams to battle against each other. Now that Colorado has won its series, the Oilers and Flames control their own destiny to meet in the playoffs for the first time since 1991.