EASTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) Pittsburgh Penguins VS. (4) Boston Bruins
The Skinny: After an opening round that featured a sluggish Penguins team narrowly escaping an early exit at the hands at the New York Islanders, Dan Bylsma has his team clicking on all cylinders as they knocked off the Ottawa Senators in just five games. Now they go up against their toughest opponent yet, the Boston Bruins. Despite getting shutout at home in game one of the ECF (3-0) the Penguins are playing their best hockey right now, and one game does not determine who will win the series. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are at the top of the playoff scoring for a reason, and if they are unable to find the net or at least contribute in some fashion, the Penguins will NOT win this series. On the other hand the Bruins, after a miraculous comeback in game seven against the Toronto Maple Leafs have been rolling along. They skated pass Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers and now face the team that took Jarome Iginla from them, or was it Iginla who chose the Penguins over the Bruins. If game one is any indication of how the series will play out then it should be a dandy.
Penguins win if... Tomas Vokoun can remain solid between the pipes. There is no denying that this is a potent lineup that has the ability to score on each shift. However, their defensive play and goaltending will be the key. The most anticipated matchup is between Crosby vs. Chara. It's quite simple, if Crosby can produce regularly like he has so far in the playoffs, the team will follow and win the series. But if the 7-foot Slovakian shuts down #87 then it will be up the other players like James Neal, Iginla and Evgeni Malkin to step up. To be blunt though, it won't be enough. Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang are guys that also needs to stand out. They will usually be up against the top line of Lucic-Krejci-Horton and in game one that line scored all 3 Bruin goals, finishing a combined minus (-3). Expect coach Bylsma to make the necessary changes throughout the series, and perhaps a change at the goaltending position if things get a little out of a hand.
Bruins win if.... They continue to get great goaltending from Tukka Rask. While he is no Tim Thomas, Rask has looked in fine form ever since beating the Leafs in seven. The defense in front of him is also one of the stingiest in the league and coach Claude Julien has his team playing like they did win the cup in 2010. Forwards are back-checking, timely scoring, killing crucial penalties and hard hitting. Overall this Bruins team has not changed much in the last few years so most of the players are used to each others tendancies on the ice. Vokoun is not an elite goaltender and is very beatable. In fact I'd argue that goaltending is the Penguins biggest weakness against a Bruins team who takes shots from all over the ice. This is the Bruins biggest task yet, and Jaromir Jagr hasn't even scored a goal all playoffs.
Prediction: Penguins in 6
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (5) Los Angeles Kings
The Skinny: The Chicago Blackhawks cruised past the Minnesota Wild in 5 and then needed to comeback from 3-1 to beat the Detroit Red Wings at home in overtime of game 7. The Blackhawks for some reason tried a different approach against the Red Wings then what made them this year's President Trophy winners. They weren't getting in front of the net, shots were not being redirected in, and their defensive play was sluggish to say the least. To and outsider it seemed that this team had pulled a "Jekyll and Hyde" sort of thing. But in game five things started to click again and after winning both games five and six they needed a Brent Seabrook overtime winner to vault them to the conference finals. It will be no easy task de-throning the defending champs but if there is a team that can do it, it's Joel Quenville's Blackhawks. The Los Angeles Kings had a tougher road to get to where they are, they needed to get past two of the toughest teams in the West. First they needed some brilliance to comeback from 0-2 and beat the St.Louis Blues and their defensive-minded team in six games, taking the next four. Then it was the battle of California against the San Jose Sharks and had it not been for finishing with two more points in the regular season, they may have lost the series. The reason for that is because each game was won by the home team and the Kings played game seven at home. Jonathan Quick once again has decided to take matters into his own hands by stealing games and making spectacular saves at key moments. TSN's James Duthie referred to Quick as being in a "Dominik Hasek world." In four of the seven games the Kings played against the Sharks, the outcome was 2-1. The same was the case in game one between these two teams with the Blackhawks coming out victorious.
Blackhawks win if... They can continue to shut the door down on the penalty kill. In these playoffs the Blackhawks are an outstanding 42/43 on PK attempts. The defense goes as far as Duncan Keith takes them but the supporting cast of Seabrook, Johnny Odyua, Niklas Hjalmarsson round out a very solid top-4. Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp have been playing very well, but in order to beat the Kings in a seven game series they will need Marian Hossa (GWG in game 1) and Jonathan Toews to step up. Also the emergence of Brian Bickell has made the team's first line even more dangerous with his ability to hit, score, and screen the goalie. Cory Crawford has been nearly perfect at home in the playoffs with a record of (7-1).
Kings win if... Jonathan Quick remains the best goalie in the NHL. Last year he rose to stardom with his tremendous play, a Stanley Cup ring and a Conn Smythe trophy to boot. This year the pressure's still on to repeat the same performance and he is not backing down. After struggling in the first two games of the playoffs against the Blues, Quick has regained his form, and due to his lateral abilities has made him the toughest goalie to beat. The Kings and the Blackhawks are similar in many ways; including the strength of the top-4 defenseman. Drew Doughty, Robyn Regher, Slava Voynov and Matt Greene's ability to shut down the best of them. But besides Quick, Mike Richards, Doughty, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown have to be better then the top players of the Blackhawks. Both teams hit but the Kings are a tougher and bigger team, and to beat Chicago they will need to hit everyone, every time they can.
Prediction: Kings in 7
No comments:
Post a Comment