Stanley Cup fever is now in full swing as the the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs begin Tonight. Here's my two cents on what will happen in the Conference quarterfinals, plus which team in each conference outside the top five may stay in the big dance a little longer, and which heavily favoured team may look at summer vacation early than expected.
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Washington Capitals vs. No. 8 New York Rangers
The Rangers clinched a playoff spot on the second to last day of the regular season, while the Capitals breezed through the regular season. The Capitals have a stronger offensive output than the Rangers, but the Blueshirts have Henrik Lundqvist (2.28 GAA, 11 shutouts) in goal. A question mark for the Capitals is, can they overcome their string of postseason disappointments? (See Potential early exit: For more.)
Capitals in seven.
No. 2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. No. 7 Buffalo Sabres
The defending Eastern Conference champions begin their defence against Ryan Miller and the Sabres. Both teams have question marks in goal as Miller has not been as spectacular as his Vezina Trophy–winning season last year, and the Flyers have another goaltending controversy between Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher. If you are looking for a team with the edge, give it to the Flyers and their scorers Claude Giroux and Danny Briere.
Flyers in five.
No. 3 Boston Bruins vs. No. 6 Montreal Canadiens
Bruins are hungry for redemption after blowing a 3-0 series lead and being eliminated to the Flyers last year, while the Habs beat the odds last year to advance to the Conference finals. Bad blood will certainly be exchanged in this series thanks to Zdeno Chara’s hit on Max Pacioretty on March 8, and the Bruins 7-0 rout two weeks later. With Carey Price (2.35 GAA) and Tim Thomas (2.00 GAA) tending the nets for the Canadiens and Bruins, this is sure to be a goalie series. Montreal was 4-2-0 in the regular season series, which I believe will the outcome of this playoff series.
Canadiens in six.
No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning
The Penguins lost Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal during the season due to injury but still proved they can win hockey games. The Lightning, thanks to Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis, are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2007, and have had their best season since their cup-winning campaign in ’04. Pittsburgh has the best penalty kill in the league, but the second-worst power play among all teams in the playoffs. It’s probable that Crosby may miss the playoffs, and if that is the case, the one-two punch of Stamkos and St. Louis will dominate the Penguins.
Lightning in seven.
Potential Cinderella team: Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens surprised us all a year ago after bouncing back from a 3-1 series deficit versus Washington to win, and eliminated the defending cup champion Pittsburgh the next round.
Who says they can’t do it again? Despite losing their goaltending hero Jaroslav Halak in the offseason, Carey Price has played solid during the season, and they still have the same cast of players from last year. But a question mark for the Habs is Price’s playoff performance historically, and if he doesn’t perform in goal, the Habs may not repeat that run to the conference finals one year ago.
Potential early exit: Washington Capitals
The Capitals have built a championship calibre team in recent years, but have nothing to show for it. They blew a 2-0 series lead to lose to Pittsburgh in the Conference semifinals in 2009, and last year they had the NHL’s best record in the regular season, but saw a 3-1 series lead crumble to Montreal in the first round. The Capitals were outscored in the finals three games of the Montreal series last year even though they heavily outshot the Canadiens.
If the Caps can’t capitalize on scoring opportunities, then they’re quest for their first cup in franchise history will end prematurely.
Western Conference
No. 1 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 8 Chicago Blackhawks
For the third consecutive season, the Hawks and Canucks will do battle in the playoffs. This will definitely be a hard fought series, despite the Hawks barely advancing to the postseason.
Canucks in seven. (For more, see Potential Cinderella team and Potential early exit for more on both teams.)
No. 2 San Jose Sharks vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Kings
Two years ago, when the Sharks and Ducks clashed in the first round of the playoffs, it was the first Stanley Cup playoff series to feature two California teams since 1969. We didn’t have to wait another 40 years to see the next “Battle of California.”
Injuries to the Kings top forwards Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams may hurt the L.A.’s chances of going far this postseason, but goalie Jonathan Quick may change that if he plays like Jaroslav Halak last year.
However, the Sharks top three forwards of Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau maybe too much for the Kings.
Sharks in five.
No. 3 Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 6 Phoenix Coyotes
When these two teams met in the postseason last year, the Coyotes surprised us all giving the Red Wings a battle and taking them to seven games. The Coyotes only have Ilya Bryzgalov in goal, but lack offense, while the Wings have Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom and more. The last time the Desert Dogs won a playoff series was in 1987 as they were still in Winnipeg. They’ll have to wait another year, having to play Detroit.
Red Wings in six.
No. 4 Anaheim Ducks vs. No. 5 Nashville Predators
The Predators goalie Pekka Rinne has been solid throughout the season (2.12 GAA) but the Predators lack scoring. The Ducks, on the other hand, have NHL regular season goal leader Corey Perry (50 goals), veteran Teemu Selanne (80 points), NHL leader in points among defensemen Lubomir Visnovsky (68 points) and others. Overall, the high octane offense of Anaheim will be difficult to contain for Nashville.
Ducks in five.
Potential Cinderella team: Chicago Blackhawks
The defending cup champions barely made it into the playoffs, but they shouldn’t be counted out early. They have Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa to help make a deep run to the playoffs possible. One area for concern is if goalie Corey Crawford could play the way Antti Niemi did one year ago for the Blackhawks. Other than that, if they outplay the Canucks in the first round, a lengthy playoff run is not out of the question.
Potential early exit: Vancouver Canucks
With Roberto Luongo in goal (2.11 GAA, league leading 38 wins), Daniel Sedin (league leading 104 points), his twin Henrik (75 assists, led league) and Ryan Kesler (41 goals), the Canucks blitzed their way to the best record in the regular season and have all the tools they need to make a run for the cup.
But history is not on their side. They have advanced to the semifinals only twice in their 40-year history, and for the past two seasons, their championship dreams have been dashed by Chicago.
The team with NHL’s best regular season record has been eliminated from the first round of the playoffs three times in the past five seasons.
While the Canucks may not be prone for elimination in the first round, the road to the cup might have gotten a little tougher facing an opponent who has knocked them out twice in the past two years.
That brings us down to two questions: Is the third time the charm? And is this their year?
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/653096-2011-nhl-playoff-predictions-conference-quarter-finals
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