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
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
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
No comments:
Post a Comment