NHL Eastern Confrence

Sticking with the corny movie title references, I present to you my predictions (not promises) for the Eastern Conference in the first round and beyond.

 #1. Montreal Canadiens vs. #8. Boston Bruins

Season Series:  Montreal: 8-0-0 (1 game decided in SO)

Goaltending:  Carey Price (24-12-3) vs. Tim Thomas (28-19-6)

You've heard it a thousand times before, but it will take a mircale for the Boston Bruins to upset Montreal in the first round.  They haven't been able to solve this team for a year and a half, and there are no indications that they will be able to reverse the fortunes in this series. Tim Thomas is too shaky to instill confidence in me as a netminder capable of stealing a series.  Carey Price is calm, collected, and looks like he's been doing this for ages. The prospect of getting Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard back at some point in the series may incentive enouh for the B's to steal a game, maybe two, but it will be a moot point by that time.

Prediction:  Canadiens in 5.

#2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #7. Ottawa Senators

Season Series:  Ottawa:  3-0-1 (1 Ottawa win decided in OT)

Goaltending:  Marc-André Fleury (19-10-2) vs. Martin Gerber (30-18-4)

The Sens won only three of its final 10 games and backed into the playoffs on the strength of loses by other teams in the final three days of the season.  Even with Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly (all expected to miss the entire first round), it would have been a difficult task for the Senators.  Missing three of their top forwards will make this nearly impossible. Martin Gerber was inconsistent in the regular season and the last time he was given a chance in the playoffs, he choked with Carolina--which I suppose makes him a perfect fit for a Senators team that has mastered the art of the choke.  How can you argue against the Penguins in this series? Sid Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are going to be FIRED UP and looking for revenge from last year as well as their first playoff series win. Fleury won nine games in a row down the stretch and his backup Ty Conklin had the best save percentage during the season.  Too many weapons for Pittsburgh, not enough heart for Ottawa, end of story.

Prediction:  Penguins in 6.

#3. Washington Capitals vs. #6. Philadelphia Flyers

Season Series:  Split 2-2-0.

Goaltending:  Critsobal Huet (32-14-6) vs. Martin Biron (30-20-9)

Possibly the two hottest teams in the Eastern Conference right now, but only one of them got any attention down the stretch.  The Capitals made all the headlines by jumping over Carolina on the final Saturday of the season to complete the miraculous comeback from worst to first in the Southeast division.  The Flyers recorded points in eight of their final nine games, going 7-1-1 to jump into sixth when at one point it looked like they may not make it at all.  The Flyers certainly have the young fire power to stack up against the Capitals, but Martin Biron hasn't displayed the consistency needed from playoff goalies.  The Capitals will ride their wave of momentum, and Alex Ovechkin into the second round, but likely no further.

Prediction: Capitals in 6.

#4. New Jersey Devils vs. #5. New York Rangers

Season Series:  NY Rangers: 7-0-1 (3 NYR wins decided in OT/SO).

Goaltending:  Martin Brodeur (44-27-6) vs. Henrik Lundqvist (37-24-10)

This may be the year that the torch gets passed from the Devils to, well anyone else in the Atlantic Division.  The Devils have a strong team, and probably the best goaltender in the game, but the Rangers are hungry to succeed, and did just that against the Devils in the regular season.  This will be Brent Sutter's first playoff series beind the Devils' bench, and it remains to be seen how the team will respond to his demanding methods, which wil surely increase exponentially as the pressure rises. Series might be a toss-up and should be entertaining to watch--provided the Devils don't lead games for too long and clog up the ice, in that case, we'll be falling asleep on our couches.

Prediction:  Rangers in 6.

As I did with the Western Conference yesterday I will attempt to predict the entire bracket for the first three rounds, but, of course, anything can happen, which is the beauty of professional sports. So here goes.

Round 2:

#1. Montreal Canadiens vs. #5. New York Rangers

This will probably be a very exciting series to watch. The Rangers will no doubt want redemption after blowing a 5-0 lead to the Habs in late February. In the end, I think the Canadiens #1 ranked power play is going to carry them very far in the post-season, and there just seems to be this thing with rookie goalies coming in performing magic in the playoffs. If nothing else, it will be entertaining for viewers.

Canadiens in 7.

#2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #3. Washington Capitals

Gary Bettman will have to pinch himself to make sure he's not dreaming.  His two poster teams, lead by the poster boys, Crosby and Ovechkin, this could end up being the most exciting series of the entire playoffs.  Both teams have plenty of firepower, physical defence and hot goalies. These two squared off in a Sunday afternoon tilt in early March and watching it I couldn't help but think that a seven game series would be the best thing to happen to the league all year.  The Penguins may have a bit too much depth for the Capitals young defence to handle. This could shape up into a rivalry of epic proportions for years to come, and fans can look forward to that.

Penguins in 7.

Round 3...

#1. Montreal Canadiens vs. #2. Pittsburgh Penguins

Flipping a coin may be the easier way to determine the outcome of this series.  Montreal has struggled mightily against French-Canadian goalies this season, and that could prove to be their downfall.  Both teams have two lines who can score (when Koivu returns, which will be far before this series begins) and goalies who can steal multiple games in a row.  Once again, it just appears that the Penguins, with the addition of Marian Hossa, have that extra punch to take out whoever gets in their way--but this one surely will not be easy.

Penguins in 7.

Combined with yesterday's predictions, this means the Stanley Cup Final this year will begin in Pittsburgh between the Penguins and the Anaheim Ducks.  I see a six to seven game series easily, and the winner is very difficult to call. I have liked the Ducks all season, especially getting key pieces back. In the end, those intangibles may be the difference between champions and runners-up.  Ducks in Six. 

First off, there is a lot of talk that the Pittsburgh Penguins intentionally sat out Sidney Crosby for the final game of the regular season against the Philadelphia Flyers.  The goal of this action was to allegedly give them a greater chance at losing so that they would face the Ottawa Senators in the first round.  The Senators have won only 18 of their last 41 games.  If you wanted to face a slumping team, the Senators certainly fit the bill.

But it is difficult to believe that any athlete, let alone a team of athletes, would give up the opportunity to clinch the Conference (and thus guaranteeing Home-Ice advantage throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs) just to face a floundering team.

Now on to the analysis.

Pittsburgh Penguins 

Pros:  The Pittsburgh Penguins have a great core of young players bolstered by veterans and players with Stanley Cup rings.  Sidney Crosby is one of the most gifted play-makers to grace the NHL in recent years, and Evgeni Malkin certainly quieted any critics he might have had before the Crosby upper-ankle sprain.  If these two players can heat up simultaneously, the team would have one of the best one-two combos in the League. 

Pros:  Since goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's return from an upper-ankle sprain, he has played phenomenally.  He was a .500 goalie before his injury, but since his return he's been on fire, which seldom happens after such a long absence.  And if he should get cold feet, Ty Conklin is primed to step in and take over.  Conklin was one of the reasons the Penguins stayed in contention during Crosby and Fleury's extended injuries.

Cons:  Defense is sometimes suspect with the Penguins, although you wouldn't notice it with the stellar play of their net-minders lately.  If their defense can't step it up, Fleury will be facing 30 shots or more per game and will be working hard every night to keep the puck out of the net.

Ottawa Senators

Pros:  The Senators have been saying for most of the season that they have been wishing the playoffs would come so that the games can "matter".  This was before they nearly missed the playoffs with only a few games left in the regular season.  With the playoffs here, the Senators fan base is looking forward to see an empassioned Senators squad looking to repeat their run to the Cup Final.

Pros:  In the off season and at the trade deadline, General Manager Bryan Murray acquired players that he dubbed "playoff performers".  Defensemen Luke Richardson and Mike Commodore, and Wingers Cory Stillman and Martin Lapointe.  They were brought in to help motivate and guide the Senators squad (average age of 28).  I know I'm not the only fan looking forward to seeing if these acquisitions can find another gear and help the Senators pick it up.

Cons:  With Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson likely out for the 1st round of the playoffs, the Senators are without their 2 biggest energy and heart players.  As of mid March, Mike Fisher was 8th in the League in hits and Daniel Alfredsson is currently 10th in the League for goals.  Their passion and offense will be greatly missed when the puck drops for Game 1 on Wednesday.

Merry Playoffs! 

  

The Boston Bruins look for their fourth win in their last five games, as they travel to New Jersey tonight to take on the third place Devils, who have already clinched a playoff spot.

A win tonight would put the black and gold one point ahead of the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference—in sixth place—and tied with the New York Rangers with 93 points. Plus, the win AND a Carolina loss tonight, will clinch them a playoff spot.

The B's are still without leading scorer-and captain Marc Savard, so they are counting on red-hot David Krejci to continue his stellar play tonight. Krejci is in the midst of a four-game point streak, racking up three goals and five assists during that span. 

Devils goalie Martin Brodeur is 6-1-0 in his last seven starts against the Bruins, with a 1.84 GAA, so the B's certainly have their work cut out for them.

Tim Thomas should get the start in net tonight, as backup netminder Alex Auld started Sunday in an overtime loss to the Sabres.  That snapped a three-game winning streak, but the B's walked away with that all-important point to stay in the playoff hunt.

Thomas has been playing exceptionally well as of late. He has won his last three starts, including a shutout in his last start against division rivals, Ottawa Senators. He has arguably been the MVP of the Bruins this season, especially with all the injuries that has plagued the squad this year.

When starting goaltender Manny Fernandez went down for the season, Thomas stepped up and solidified his No. 1 status, while making his first All-Star appearance. 

While the Devils don't have to worry anymore about a playoff berth, the Bruins are still looking for all the points they can muster, starting tonight. The Devils won two of three meetings against the Bruins this season, so the Hub of Hockey will definitely be looking to even the score.

Boston really needs this win tonight, to get out of seventh place, and move up the standings. After all, if the playoffs started today, the B's would be facing the Montreal Canadiens. Need I say more?

The last week of the regular season brings clarity to the often murky race to the post-season.  But, with only a few games left per team, the Eastern Conference only has 2 teams with a guaranteed appearance in the Spring Fling.  Pittsburgh and the Candiens are the only teams in the Eastern Conference that are sleeping soundly as of March 31st.

So where does that leave the Ottawa Senators?  The team that challenged the Anaheim Ducks less than one year ago in the Big Dance for the Stanley Cup?  As of the writing of this article, they are sitting in 6th place in the East with 92 points, only 1 point ahead of the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, two teams tied for the 7th and 8th place in the Conference.  They are 4 points ahead of the Washington Capitals (88 points), but the Capitals have a chance of bumping the Carolina Hurricanes (90 points) out of the 3rd divisional seed.

Not only does Ottawa have to battle other teams itching for a chance to prove themselves, but they also have to battle through a few key injuries.  Center Chris Kelly, a Penalty Killing specialist, is sidelined for a minimum of three weeks with a hairline fracture in his leg.  His speed and defensive responsability will be missed on the Senators Penalty kill.  Cory Stillman is also day-to-day with a lower body injury, although he is not expected to miss much time, his power play know how could help the Senators clinch a chance to prove themselves in the playoffs.

Alot of fans are still torn on the Senators goalie situation, saying that Gerber can't handle the pressure of being a #1 goalie in a hockey crazy city like Ottawa, and that the coaching staff should hand the reins to Ray Emery who has proven himself in the playoffs.  It is my humble opinion that Gerber is the Senators' best chance of going deep in the playoffs in regards to the goalie position.  He is technically sound and with a good defensive corps in front of him, he can concentrate on stopping pucks and doing well.

I truly believe this team is capable of challenging for the Stanley Cup.  The 15-2 start to the season wasn't just a fluke, and even anti-Ottawa hockey fans know that there is too much talent on this team to flounder in the first round, or miss the playoffs entirely.  Something from the beginning of the season is missing and if the Senators can find it before they're in a hole, they'll make all the teams in the East sweat bullets.

Hypothetically, if the Senators are the team that comes out of the East, who would they be facing?  In my mind, its a three way tie.  Anaheim is the same team that they were last year...  Only better, with the addition of Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider.  San Jose has truly benefitted from the trade deadline acquisition of Brian 'Soup' Campbell, and Patrick Marleau is starting to produce offensively on the ice.  And of course, there is the Detroit Redwings, who are almost guaranteed to win the President's Trophy as the team with the best overall record at the end of the regular season.

Don't be surprised, though, if Colorado knocks off one or two of the three aformentioned teams.  If Peter 'Foppa' Forsberg can stay healthy along with Ryan Smyth, Joe Sakic, and Paul Stastny, they have great offense and Jose Theodore is looking in "Conn Smythe" form.

No matter what happens, hockey fans the world over are gearing up for one of the greatest times of the year: where there's a hockey game being televised nearly every night, and the quality of hockey is maximized.  Merry Playoffs!