So the NHL regular season is now over but that just means the best time of the year has arrived and playoff hockey is set to start. While my beloved Avs just missed out this year that doesn't entirely ruin the playoffs, though I will admit they would have been much better if they had made it in. However there are some great matchups and while I will go back and look at how I did predicting this season later, right now I am going to take a look at the first round and give my take on who has a chance of not only making it deep in the playoffs but winning it all.
Ottawa @ NY Rangers : We'll start off in the Eastern Conference where the top seated Rangers will be taking on a surprising Ottawa team. Ottawa however shouldn't be counted on to roll over. They have the best offensive defenseman in the league this year in Karlsson who finished with 25 more points than the closest defenseman. They also have a goalie that can steal a playoff game, as I saw first hand when he (Craig Anderson of course) was able to hold off the Sharks in the Avalanche only playoff win in the last 4 years with an incredible 50+ save shutout. Jason Spezza has had a great offensive season as well. The Sens can also take comfort in the fact they won 3 of 4 against the Rangers in the regular season, including both in NY. However having stated all that the Rangers aren't just going to roll over. Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the league and the Rangers have a pretty good lineup of their own, including one of the only four 40+ goal scorers in Marion Gaborick. This could come down to a goalie frustrating the other team leading to a series win, and if that were to take place I would put my money on the Rangers. My guess : Rangers in 6
Washington @ Boston : If ever there were a team that could pull off a first round upset you would have to think Washington could be that team. With guys like Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Semin this should be an offensive powerhouse, however they have struggled all year and in a weak division were unable to capture that title. Their goaltending, looking good at the beginning of the year, hasn't been great and a question remains who is their best bet going in. On the other side of the coin you have the defending Cup champion Bruins. They return nearly all their players from last years team and have been solid once again this season. They have the right pieces in all the key spots, and as long as Thomas doesn't get injured while Rask is unavailable the Bruins should be looking to quickly move to the second round. My guess : Bruins in 5
New Jersey @ Florida : Florida comes in with home ice advantage courtesy of a division title in the worst division in hockey. They shouldn't be taken lightly, however they do have 8 less points than NJ and that could be worse if not for a great number of OT/SO losses. NJ has 10 more wins than the Panthers and they boast a lot of talent up front and Brodeur brings tons of experience. However I think that Florida is going to have trouble continuing their season success against the Devils. My guess : Devils in 5
Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh : This could be the best series of the entire playoffs. There is already plenty of bad blood between the teams with a game ending brawl just in the last couple weeks. Both teams are deep and have talent, however Philly has inconsistent goaltending where Pittsburgh has experience with deep runs and have not only the leagues leading point getter and 2nd leading goal scorer in Malkin but also have a second 40 goal scorer in Neal. All this is without mentioning Crosby who while out much of the season still produces at a crazy rate. In the end this is going to be a long, gruelling series and home ice in game seven could play a big role. My guess : Pens in 7
Los Angeles @ Vancouver : LA is perhaps one of the teams I consider having played well below what they are capable of this year. Yet they still managed to sneak into the playoffs behind some of the best goaltending in the league in Quick. They also have a lot of talent both up front and on the blueline and if they could put it all together now that playoffs are starting they could be a team primed to upset the Nucks and go deep in the playoffs. However they get to play Vancouver in the first round, the President's Trophy winner for the second season in a row. Vancouver will want Daniel Sedin back as soon as possible but even while he is out they have scoring depth to spare and boast a pretty solid blueline. While Luongo has good and bad games and has some really poor outings in the playoffs to his name he is still a good goalie with plenty of talent and should he falter Schneider could be a number one in many cities. In the end I think the Kings make things dangerously close for the Nucks but fall short. My guess : Nucks in 6
San Jose @ St. Louis : Another team well below what they are capable of is the Sharks, though they draw a bit better in the Blues who were very good all year but have a mediocre record of late. Still the Blues have the goalie tandem that allowed the fewest goals all year and play a very good team game. Many of their stars aren't going to get league wide recognition but they have a number of very good players. San Jose on the other hand have a number of big stars known around the league. They have not played as well as they can all year and have a history of falling short in the playoffs, however they have been playing better of late needing wins to just get to the playoffs. This series could go either way but I feel the Sharks enter playing better than the Blues and will win early and hold on to the series. My guess : Sharks in 7
Chicago @ Phoenix : Just as in this matchup in the East, the #6 Chicago actually has more points than the division winner in the 3 seed Phoenix. This one is a bit closer with Chicago only a few points and three wins above Phoenix. Chicago has a squad that is capable of a deep run, depth and scorers up front, a solid blueline, and goaltending that can do the job it needs. Toews is questionable which doesn't help their cause but they still have enough to win a series or two without him. Phoenix meanwhile has very few stars, Doan and Yandle being the exceptions, and coming into the season most thought they would be a lottery team this year. However they play a great team game with some of the best coaching in the league and Mike Smith, thought to be one of the worst starters at the beginning of the year, has proven to really fit in Phoenix and has been solid all year. In the end this series will come down to if Smith can remain solid in net or not. This is a big question mark, and this series is the one I've gone back and forth on the most, but I think in the end Chicago just has a bit too much to handle for Phoenix. Phoenix has proven nearly everyone wrong this year though. My guess : Hawks in 6
Detroit @ Nashville : Detroit is a team that has it all. Some may question their goaltending but even that is good enough to win games. On defense Lidstrom leads them as he has for two decades and he's as good as ever, and up front they can score plenty of goals and boast one of the best players in the game. On the other side of the ice Nashville has great goaltending and perhaps the best defense tandom in the league in Weber and Suter. They don't have big name scorers but rather score by committee and rely on defense and goaltending. This is going to be a hard fought battle that could go either way, however in the end I don't think even home ice helps and Detroit, too skilled through the lineup, wins out. My guess : Wings in 6
With that the second round would be Rangers-Devils, Bruins-Pens and Nucks-Sharks and Wings-Hawks. From there I would at this time put the Rangers and Pens in the East with the Pens winning that, then the Nucks-Wings in the West with the Wings taking that one. Then the Pens will beat the Wings...
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