The playoffs are upon us once again. There has not been a Stanley Cup celebration in Boston since 1972 (unless you count the year that Ray Bourque won with Colorado and everyone in New England was pulling for him because the Bruins were non-contenders) and it is time again to hope that this could be the year. The Capitals captured the President's Trophy for being the best team in the regular season, but the President's Trophy is not the best indicator for the Stanley Cup winner (last year, the Sharks lost in the first round). Below are the different match ups for round one.
#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens
I expect the Caps to take this one. Washington has a very prolific offense led by Alex Ovechkin who scored 50 goals this year. As good as they are at scoring, Washington's goal tending has not been the best by any stretch of the imagination. I do not think this will be a problem against the Habs, but in future rounds, it could be a problem against the other goalies in the East.
#2 New Jersey Devils vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers
The Devils are the better team this year and they will be tough for anyone who has to face them in this tournament. Martin Brodeur is still one of the elite net minders in the game and he will make it difficult to gain any momentum. Philly will make this series competitive and physical, but New Jersey will prevail.
#3 Buffalo Sabres vs. #6 Boston Bruins
This is a very interesting match up for my hometown team. The Bruins did what they had to do to get into this position and Buffalo is the team they have the best chance of beating. Ryan Miller has had a great year and has been phenomenal since the Olympics, but Tuuka Rask has been pretty impressive in his own right guarding the Bruins net. Rask has played well against Buffalo this year. The Bruins seem to be playing their best hockey of the year right now as the moved up to #6 in the Eastern Conference down the stretch. In the season finale, Michael Ryder had two goals and Marco Sturm had one, which is encouraging since both of them had trouble finding the back of the net the last few weeks. The Bruins three short-handed goals in a single penalty kill against Carolina on Saturday, was phenomenal and it showed that if they play aggressively, the Bruins really can score. This one will be fun to watch.
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Ottawa Senators
The Senators had a good season, but the have the misfortune of playing the Penguins right off the bat. Pittsburgh was neck and neck with New Jersey all year and their star power is intimidating and tough to beat. Sidney Crosby had another amazing year and the young captain already has a Stanley Cup title and a gold medal under his belt. Again, goal tending in the playoffs is huge and Marc-Andre Fleury can play with the best of them. Sorry Ottawa, better luck next year.
#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #8 Colorado Avalanche
I am hoping for the upset in this one. I have nothing against the Sharks, but I have always liked the Avalanche ever since they helped Bourque get his name on the Stanley Cup. I believe that Adam Foote is the only player left from that team still in Colorado, but I always liked the way he played. Colorado had a good year, but they lost some ground in the standings when Detroit got hot. They are a team that would dominate in the East but seems very average in the West.
#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #7 Nashville Predators
Chicago will advance and will be one of the teams fighting to represent the West in the finals. Nashville had a good year, but Chicago is just a better team this year. Chicago can challenge San Jose, or Detroit or Phoenix, or Vancouver and I would not be surprised if there is a victory parade in the Windy City when all is said and done.
#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 Los Angelas Kings
I do not know much about either team. I might have seen one Canucks game this year and I do not remeber seeing the Kings play. I think I will go with Vancouver because they are the higher seed and the time I did see them play, they beat the Bruins, as I recall.
#4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings
I think this is the most intriguing series in the Western Conference. Detroit was a game seven away from back to back titles last year. Phoenix was out of the playoffs and bankrupt last year. In the pre-season, Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky stepped down and the team's future seemed uncertain. Phoenix's future is still uncertain as there are talks of moving them elsewhere, but in the meantime, they put together a very impressive regular season. The Red Wings had a bit of a disappointing first half but have played really well lately. It is too bad that they play each other in the first round because this would be a great conference final match up and a great story later in the playoffs.
Anything can happen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It is not like the NBA, where upsets rarely happen. I am excited to see how it all goes down.
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