2nd Round Predictions Eastern Conference (Genius Version)

Well the first round of the best playoff sport around in now in the books and with a few surprises and disappointments we now look forward to round 2.

1) Boston Bruins vs 6) Carolina Hurricanes

How They Got Here: It is not surprising that the Boston Bruins made it to the second round without much resistance from the Montreal Canadiens. The Carolina Hurricanes on the otherhand had to scratch and claw (and pray a little) through their first round series with the New Jersey Devils. The Canes had the most amazing comeback I have ever seen in the playoffs scoring 2 goals with 1:20 remaining on Marty Brodeur to win game seven. CRAZY!!!!

Series Outlook: I believe that the Boston Bruins are going to make it to the Stanley Cup finals, they are just too good defensively with Davison Michigan's own, goalie Tim Thomas. He showed that he can perform in the playoffs in his first series and I don't see him stopping. Not only are they talented on the blue line, but also they know how to score in bunches. Michael Ryder has 7 points in 4 games along with Phil Kessel (6 points), Marc Savard (5) and David Krejci (5).

That being said, I also believed that the Canes had little chance against the mighty Marty in round one. This team is led by perrenial all-star center Eric Stall. He seems to pull this team through thick and thin and just refuses to give up no matter what the circumstances. Stall had 7 points in round one along with Ray Whitney and Chad Larose. Jussi Jokinen seems to come up when the pressure is on and the D-Men like to get involved also. The Canes are well rounded and have had good play from goalie Cam Ward, but I believe that the first round may take a toll on their bodies, certainly not their mentality though. If they are to win they will have to scratch and claw their way through this series also. Expect leaders Eric Stall and Rod Brindamour to rally their troops for this series.

Prediction: Bruins in 6

2) Washington Capitals vs 4) Pittsburgh Penguins

Well the fat cats of the NHL had a celebratory party last night when this series fell into their laps. This is the series the NHL has been dreaming about since both AO and Sid the Kid have been in the league. Now that the dream is a reality we are going to see what happens.

How They Got Here: We are going to start with the Caps, they had a hard fought series with the New York Rangers winning game seven with a goal from Sergei Federov. The good news for them is that their 21 year old goalie Simeon Varlamov ( played as many games in playoffs as he has in his young career) looked amazing. The Penguins series was a physical 6 game series with the Philadelphia Flyers, but the Penguins top 2 seemed too much for the Flyers to handle, as it is hard to contain 2 of the best hockey players in the NHL no matter who you are.

Series Outlook: This series cannot fall short of a masterpiece if it is to live up to its hype. While I do believe it will be extremely offensive battle I am not sure it will live up to that hype. Pittsburgh is well rounded on both ends of the ice, even it is moreso on offense, and Washington relies heavily on Varlamov for defense. The big questions are all about how the top players will perform. For this I believe there will be sparks and this series even has me excited. I am not a fan of either team and would love to see AO knock Sidney Crosby's teeth out, but don't expect that kind of grit...just hope for it. Evgeni Malkin, the man that nobody seems to talk about (weird because he will more than likely win the Hart Trophy) has had an amazing playoff series so far and I do not believe that will stop. I do think that this series will be amazing, but maybe not as close as some think.

Prediction: Penguins in 6

Wings vs Ducks

On paper this is a dream matchup for the Detroit Red Wings, but common sense tells me that any 8 seed that can win a series against the 1 seed will be no easy matchup. Contradictory to that statement, I do believe that the Ducks are the least likely of all the teams to beat the Wings. Here is a look at position by position to see who has the edge.


Forwards -

Detroit: As we all know, Detroit is the most talented team in the NHL, which gives them an edge in forwards for sure. The first line of Pavel Datsyuk, Marian Hossa, and Tomas Holmstrom combined for 10 points in the first round (Hossa and Holmstrom 4 each, Datsyuk with only two, but was a crucial part of the defense and the forecheck). Our second line of Franzen, Zetterberg, and Cleary combined for a total of 15 points (top 3 scorers on team). When firing on all cylinders, our top two lines are the best in the NHL.

Ducks: Although I am not completely familiar with the Ducks first line, I know that it involves one of the best player in this years playoffs so far, and that is the 6'4" 221 lb center Ryan Getzlaf. Getzlaf is a lot like Rick Nash, big body, great shot, and a team leader, the glaring difference is Getzlaf's supporting cast. This cast includes rookie Bobby Ryan (4 goals 0 assist) and youngster Corey Perry (3 goals 1 assist). I do believe that is their first line, and that line is great, very productive, but how will they do against the best D-Man of all time in Nicklas Lidstrom? Just ask Rick Nash.

Edge: Red Wings


Defense:

Detroit: While the Wings have had some issues defensively throughout the season, it seemed to be a loss of interest more than a loss of talent. Throughout 3 games the Wings only allowed 2 goals, and the main reason the Jackets scored 5 on us in game 4 was because Osgood was injured. As I mentioned earlier, Nicklas Lidstrom is the best D-Man in the NHL, quite possibly of all time. He will be in charge of slowing down Getzlaf and Ryan with his linemate Brian Rafalski. This line combined for 7 points and a +9 in the first series. Behind them we have the gritty line of Kronwall and Stuart, who can forget the hit Brad Stuart put on R.J. Umberger in the first round...well maybe Umberger forgot...but not me. This line also combined for 7 points and a +2.

Anaheim: It is hard to argue that Anaheim is not talented on the blue line. With aging veterans Scott Neidermeyer and Chris Pronger patroling that area it can be a fearful place to go for some forwards. The top D-Line had 9 points in 6 games with an amazing +9 (thank Jonas Hiller). This line is great and all, but what about after the first line? Well they traded away for Ryan Whitney and he is solid (4 points +2)but after him the D-Men get a lot weaker (James Wisniewski, Francois Beauchemin...c'mon now) The first line is stellar, although old, but our depth will wear this aging defense down.

Edge: Slight to Detroit


Goalies:

Detroit: Ozzie played great in the first 3 games of the series, but a mysterious leg/groin injury hampered his play a great deal for game 4. It is uncertain which Osgood will show up and we can only hope for the best, because he is one of the best playoff goalies I have ever watched. He still posted solid numbers with a 1.75 GAA and a .936 save percentage. Let's hope he is fully healed for this series though.

Anaheim: What can I say about Jonas Hiller that Barry Melrose hasn't already said. I think that the Ducks prayed to the hockey gods to get this kind of play out of an untested rookie goaltender. Hiller has been by all accounts the best goalie in the playoffs so far and the only knock about him is that he hasn't seen that many shots from the Sharks. He posted a 1.64 GAA and a .957 save percentage with 2 shutouts in the first series. If the Ducks have a chance of winning, it's this fella. Anaheim, pray to the hockey gods once more.

Edge: Anaheim


Depth:

Detroit: Detroit got plenty of scoring out of their 3rd line in the first round with Hudler, Samuelsson, and Filppula (9 points). Our 4th line played gritty and did their job quite well, but are not there to score. Our depth is what sets Detroit away from many of the other upper echelon teams in the NHL and so we must play that way.

Anaheim: If you take out the 2nd line for the Ducks, (Sellane, Niedemeyer, Miller) all that you have left are role players. Ryan Carter is decent (2 points) but they just don't have the kind of depth that the Wings do.

Edge: Wings by a landslide.

Playoffs so far....

So the first round is over for the Wings...(On their way to a 16-0 playoffs.) Here is my outlook on the first round so far.

Detroit's sweep of Columbus made it 3 sweeps in the first round, including Boston sweeping Montreal, and Vancouver sweeping St.Louis (I realize that i picked St. Louis as my upset pick, o well, i was wrong).

Chicago and Calgary are tied 2-2 in an extremely tight series. I sill believe the Hawks will come out on top, but expect it in 7. Anaheim is shocking the world and destroying the Sharks 3 games to 1. The Rangers are winning their series with the Caps 3-2, and the Devils are winning their series w/ the Canes 3-2.

Pittsburgh just won their series with the Flyers in six games today, but I am still skeptical about the Penguins team this season.

It looks like the Wings will be playing the Ducks in the 2nd round and I couldn't be happier, we will overwhelm the young team with the young goalie. Expect the goons in Anaheim to be sent packing after they make the blockbuster upset.

Wings complete sweep of Blue Jackets

Franzen nets game winner with 57 seconds left on controversial power play.


Two keys in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are staying healthy and getting rest. Closing out an over-matched opponent becomes the key in these two things. The Wings managed to do just that tonight in a back and forth battle against the nothing-to-lose Blue Jackets.

The Wings led 3-1 after the first period on goals by Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, and Dan Cleary. The Blue Jackets came out of the locker room and played with fire in the second period. They tied the game up, but Marion Hossa proved why he is a star by scoring back-to-back goals to go up 5-3. Columbus fought back, tying the score once again before the second period ended.

The third period was a fast paced, hard hitting microcosim of why the NHL Playoffs are under appreciated. Both teams had multiple chances to take the lead but the Wings best chance came late in the period when, with 1:34 left in the game, Columbus was called for a Too Many Men on the Ice penalty. The Wings capitalized when Franzen hammered home the the winner off of a rebound.

Red Wings roll through Blue Jackets in Game 2

Honestly, Ken Hitchcock needs to find a way to rally his troops, or this will be a short, short series. The Detroit Red Wings made their game 2 victory seem effortless, making Columbus look like an AHL squad in a 4-0 win.

Unlike game 1 the Red Wings got off to an early start with a power play goal from Brian Rafalski. Again the Wings always have a man in front of the net pestering Steve Mason. At the end of the 1st the Wings had a 1-0 lead.

The Second was a lot like the 1st game in which we completely dominated with goals from Pavel Datsyuk on a redirect and Henrik Zetterberg on a sick wrist shot. The game was well out of reach by the time we got goal number 4 from Jiri Hudler. The rest of the third period showed the Wings shut down the Jackets.

I realize that we have not played on the road yet, but this series seems to show why the Red Wings will repeat as champions, and if the next few seasons go the way i think they will, we're looking at a 4-peat minimum...maybe i shouldn't get ahead of myself.

Wings Dominate Game 1

The Detroit Red Wings started their Championship defense with bang Thursday Night. Just as I had predicted, the Blue Jackets were just outmatched, and out played.

The Game started as most have in this years playoffs, heavy on the penalties. Referees seem to be calling everything this year and it is watering down the game.The Red Wings were on the penalty kill for 6 minutes in the first period alone, thanks to an amazing penalty kill largely due to Niklas Lidstrom and the immortal Chris Osgood. Ozzie had a so-so season and was a question mark going into the series, but after only 1 game, I can say that he is on his game, and i know those that watched the game will agree.

The second period started slow, but 10 minutes into it Jiri Hidler hooked up with Valteri Fillpula to score the game's first goal. 50 seconds later however, RJ Umberger tied it up for the Jackets on a give-away in front of the net. After that fluke goal though, it was all Wings as they scored two more goals in the Second (Niklas Kronwall Jonathan Ericsson) to lead the Jackets 3-1 at the break.

The 3rd period started with a flash, and it's a familiar sight to us Red Wings fans, that is "The Mule" Johan Franzen scoring yet another playoff goal (13 goals in 16 games last post season). After The Mule raised the difference to 3 it was smooth sailing for the next 17 minutes.


Off Note, I would like to thank the Ducks for shutting out the Sharks in their game 1 matchup.

Western Conference Playoff Outlook (1st Round)

So, now that i got that other conference out of the way, it's time to get down to business. The Western Conference, much like in the NBA, is the powerhouse of the NHL. With the two most talented teams in the NHL, an 8 seed that has a legit shot at an upset, and supporting teams that will knock your teeth out, the Western Conference is primed for another Stanley Cup Champion.

1) San Jose Sharks vs 8) Anaheim Ducks

Preview - The President trophy winners of 2009, the San Jose Sharks. Although they have been extremely talented for the last 3 seasons or so, the Sharks have always flopped in the playoffs. I am not convinced that this year will be any different. This season has been an amazing season for the Sharks behind all star forward Joe Thornton and his impressive 61 assist. The biggest key to this team has to be the goalie Evgeni Nabakov. Nabakov went 41-12-8 with a 2.44 GAA. His play will have to stay high for the Sharks to win a cup. The Ducks on the other hand are a talented team that has had troubles for almost the entire season....until the end that is. The Ducks were one of the hottest teams in the last couple months of the season going 11-5-2 in the last 2 months. With a young team it will be hard for the Ducks to make a serious run, but if they catch fire early, watch out.

Prediction - Sharks in 5. I think the Ducks have a chance here, but i believe the Sharks will win 2 at home and rattle the youthful Ducks. This could be a sweep, or a seven game series.

2) Detroit Red Wings vs 7) Columbus Blue Jackets

Preview - The Columbus Blue Jackets have made their first playoff appearance in franchise history, the bad news is that they are stuck against the Red Wings. Detroit seemed uninspired at the end of the regular season, but experience will be key here in the first round. With the best offensive team in the league this against a rookie goalie (albeit a stud rookie goalie) The Red Wings may make short work of the Blue Jackets. Expect the Red Wings to start with a bang Thursday night and not look back.

Prediction - Wings in 5. While I am expecting the Jackets to be outmatched, expect Rick Nash to light us up in at least one game. Other than that one game expect to hear Johan Franzen's name a lot as he will frustrate the rookie goalie with his big body in front of the net.

3) Vancouver Canucks vs 6) St. Louis Blues

Preview - Well I never thought that the Blues would be in the playoffs, let alone the 6 seed. The Blues obtained the best record in the NHL post All Star Game and have surprised many. While many were surprised with the Blues success, none were too surprised with Vancouver's success. With the acquisition of Mats Sundin and one of the most talented goalies Roberto Luongo (2nd best goalie in NHL) the Canucks have stars in their eyes. They better not overlook the Blues though, with Brad Boyes, David Backes, and the ever crafty veteran Keith Tkachuk the Blues want to be the cinderella of the NHL Playoffs.

Prediction Upset Alert, Blues in 7. While this scenario seems unlikely to many, i believe as long as Luongo doesn't stand on his head the entire series that the Blues will just be more hungry for the win. Expect the Blues to play the Sedin twins extremely physical and just wear out the 'Nucks. Sorry Mats, try again.

4) Chicago Blackhawks vs 5) Calgary Flames

Preview - Well here is the final matchup of the Western Conference, and it's a good one. The Blackhawks have surprised many and actually had the 3rd best record in the Western Conference. The Flames were picked to win their division, but lost it due to a lackluster March and April. Calgary is still the most physical team in the NHL and picked up some great goal scorers in Mike Cammalleri and newly acquired Olli Jokinen. The Blackhawks have a very young talented team anchored by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. The Hawks defense has stifled many though and is relatively unknown anchored by Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell. Both teams' goalies have been amazing down the stretch, so expect this series to be tough for both teams.

Prediction - Blackhawks in 7. I like the Hawks because their defense can score points and will have a little more firepower than the Flames. Expect a tough physical series.

2009 Playoff Outlook Eastern Conference 1st Round

It's that time folks, let the beards grow and your interest in your girlfriend drop. That's right, the playoffs are here and the NHL has to be ecstatic with some of the first round match pairings. It's the time of year where legends are made, stars are born, and dreams become shattered, and I'll be here to take by the hand step by step through this years spectacle on ice. For all the gambling men out there get ready to call your bookies, because these are my expert picks.

Eastern Conference

1) Boston Bruins vs 8) Montreal Canadiens

Preview - This series was thought to happen much later in the playoffs at the beginning of the season. The Montreal Canadiens were predicted to stay at the top of the Eastern Conference as they did last season, but failed to do so in a sub par year for them. The Bruins however played well beyond what many expected of them and were a head above the rest of the conference for the majority of the season. This match up is a rematch of the 2008 playoffs in which the Canadiens won in 7 games. However, the tables are turned this year and the Habs happen to be the underdog. Tim Thomas (out of Davison HS in Davison, Michigan) may be this years recipient of the Vezina Trophy, and has already won the Bill Masterton Award (Best Goals Against Average as a team). With a stud defensemen like Zdeno Chara in front of him it is hard to imagine that his production will slide in the playoffs.

Prediction - Bruins in 6, behind strong defense and great goal tending. Boston will overpower the Habs in this series and Montreal fans will be praying for Vinny Lecavalier shortly thereafter.

2) Washington Capitals vs 7) New York Rangers

Preview - The Washington Capitals have one of the most impressive offenses in the entire NHL, it's no surprise that Alex Ovechkin is the leader of that offense. With 268 goals (3rd in NHL, 56 from AO) the Capitals will be looking to crack the tough defense that the Rangers possess. NYR has one of the top goalies in Henrik Lundqvist and are 6th in the leagues allowing only 212 goals. With a young defense, and an underachieving set of forwards (Scott Gomez and Chris Drury among others) the Rangers are going to have trouble keeping up with the offensive minded Caps. Stranger things have happened though and maybe experience will become a factor.

Prediction - Caps in 7
While I am not all that impressed with the still one trick pony Caps, I just don't believe that the Rangers have the firepower to keep up with them. Nor do i believe that the Rangers defense is good enough to stop Ovechkin. Look for a long series here with a possible upset only if Lundqvist turns in an MVP performance.

3) New Jersey Devils vs 6) Carolina Hurricanes

Preview - The New Jersey Devils are once again in the top 3 in the Eastern Conference. The only team to even come close to rivaling the Red Wings when it comes to consistency. I have become a big fan of the Devils for one reason and one reason only...Martin Brodeur, best goalie ever. Without Brodeur, nobody is talking about the Devils as a sucessful franchise and nobody cares about Jersey. Carolina is a team that i am skeptical about. Yes they did win a Stanley Cup, but i believe it was a fluke (One of the worst Stanley Cups of all time, IMO). The Hurricanes like to prove me wrong though, and i wouldn't be completely shocked if they play the Devils better than most people expect.

Prediction - Devils in 5. Marty Brodeur....Enough Said

4)Pittsburgh Penguins vs 5) Philadelphia Flyers

Preview - The Series that the higher up are salivating over. The Pittsburgh Penguins w/ the Prodigal Child Sidney Crosby, and the Art Ross Trophy winner (Most Points) Evgeni Malkin. Unfortunately for them, their goaltender is as streaky as Todd Jones. The Flyers are qute possibly my favorite team in the East due to the fact that they are so well rounded. Their goalie Marty Biron caught fire at the right time of the season and this series will more than likely be the best of the first round.

Prediction - Flyers in 7. This series could really go either way, but i believe the difference will be the goalies. Whichever one gets hot should win the series.



Western Conference coming in a couple of hours

2009 Season Recap

As we all know the 2009 NHL regular season has come to an end today. Although there were a few surprises, the better teams are still on top of the standings, and the familiar faces of the playoffs are all there.

The biggest surprise of the season in my eyes has to be the emergence of the Central Division in the Western Conference as major contenders. Cha-town went from 10th in the western conference in 08 to 4th in 09. (They are the 3rd best team in the west, but a technicality forces them into the 4th seed) St. Louis went from 14th out of 15 teams to the 6 seed, and Colombus made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history as the 7 seed, moving up from 13th the year before.

The biggest disappointment is a tie for me between the Ottawa Senators (7 seed in east to 11th) and the Montreal Canadiens (1 seed to 8 seed). Montreal was a favorite for the cup early on and has only been on a downslide since.




The 2008-2009 season has had its ups and downs for Red Wings fans, but as we all know, our best hockey is up ahead in the playoffs. The Wings are the 2 seed in the west with 112 points and are pitted against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 1st round. The big addition in the offseason was obviously Marian Hossa, and he lived up to all the expectations us fans had for him. A big physical forward on the 1st line with Datsyuk and Holmstrom, Hossa netted 40 goals to lead the team and also had 31 assist, making his point total at 71 points (3rd on the team). The Individual Stats look something like this

	Player	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PP	SH	GW		OT	S	S%	TOI/G	Sft/G	FO%
1	Pavel Datsyuk	DET	C	81	32	65	97	34	22	11	1	3		0	248	12.9	19:12	25.0	56.0
2	Henrik Zetterberg	DET	L	77	31	42	73	13	36	12	2	5		0	309	10.0	19:52	25.5	53.3
3	Marian Hossa	DET	R	74	40	31	71	27	63	10	0	8		1	307	13.0	17:47	23.4	21.0
4	Johan Franzen	DET	C	71	34	25	59	21	44	11	1	8		1	246	13.8	18:06	23.4	56.0
5	Nicklas Lidstrom	DET	D	78	16	43	59	31	30	10	0	4		1	180	8.9	24:49	28.8	0.0
6	Brian Rafalski	DET	D	78	10	49	59	17	20	5	0	1		0	141	7.1	23:10	27.7	0.0
7	Jiri Hudler	DET	C	82	23	34	57	7	16	6	0	2		0	155	14.8	13:39	18.2	44.8
8	Niklas Kronwall	DET	D	80	6	45	51	2	50	4	0	1		0	121	5.0	22:53	29.3	100.0
9	Mikael Samuelsson	DET	R	81	19	21	40	0	50	7	0	1		0	257	7.4	15:22	20.6	25.0
10	Daniel Cleary	DET	R	74	14	26	40	0	46	3	0	3		0	163	8.6	16:56	23.9	55.4
11	Valtteri Filppula	DET	C	80	12	28	40	9	42	1	0	1		0	129	9.3	16:06	22.9	52.1
12	Tomas Holmstrom	DET	L	53	14	23	37	18	38	8	0	1		0	75	18.7	15:15	20.5	37.5
13	Tomas Kopecky	DET	R	79	6	13	19	-7	46	1	1	2		0	110	5.5	10:24	15.3	45.6
14	Kris Draper	DET	C	79	7	10	17	-13	40	0	1	2		0	93	7.5	11:58	19.4	60.3
15	Brett Lebda	DET	D	65	6	10	16	9	48	0	0	1		0	69	8.7	13:38	18.2	100.0

As you can see, the Red Wings are still the most talented team in the NHL.

So this is the first post on BLSPORTS NHL BLOG. Keep reading because soon i will post my playoff outlook.