Early draft of article I just wrote for the blog my friends and I all lost interest in:
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(1) Vancouver Canucks VS (8) Los Angeles Kings A few years ago, nobody would have predicted that Jonathon Quick would be the premier goaltender in this matchup, yet here he stands as a Vezina probable (next to Henrik Lundqvist and nobody else) with Roberto Luongo no doubt enduring the jeers and gagging noises that come with every postseason appearance of his. With that said, goaltending won’t be the deciding factor in this matchup. Quick is the ONLY reason LA even snuck in to the playoffs, whereas Vancouver is the whole package. The Canucks rank near the top of the league in nearly every notable category, and still carry stud offensive players like the Sedin twins, Kesler, Burrows, and others, whereas the Kings have players being outsmarted by water bottles and out-muscled by pancakes. Quick’s Jedi powers won’t be enough to stop the special teams onslaught of Vancouver’s top lines, so I’m giving the Canuckleheads this one fairly handily. VANCOUVER IN 5
(2) St. Louis Blues VS (7) San Jose Sharks This here is an interesting one, as the Blues shocked basically everybody by becoming one of the top teams in the league this year, taking the highly competitive Central Division and producing a goaltending tandem that rivals almost anything in recent memory. The Sharks also shocked a lot of people by underperforming in the regular season for a change as opposed to the postseason. With Dany Heatley a distant memory, the Sharks powered into the offseason winning seven of their last ten games, while the Blues puttered in by losing six of their last ten. St. Louis also lacks any huge offensive stars on their team, working more as one unit like eventual Cup winner Boston did last year, while the Sharks are stacked once again, plus they have momentum on their sides. The fact that St. Louis resembles Boston so much this year is making it hard for me to call this, since their monolithic goaltending team could probably shut down any team at this point, but I have a sneaking hunch that things just aren’t going to go their way this year. That said, St. Louis swept the regular season series. If it were any other team I’d call for an upset, but instead I’ll settle for a tough series win. ST. LOUIS IN 7
(3) Phoenix Coyotes VS (6) Chicago Blackhawks The number three seed in both conferences this year is kind of a joke, with both Phoenix and Florida really coming in around seventh seed pointwise but thanks to playing in a close and mediocre division, they get home ice advantage. Really though, this adds an interesting element, giving a worse team home ice advantage could ignite a spark that normally wouldn’t have been there. No doubt Phoenix has been a defensive force this year, with Mike Smith stepping up his game to a level he has never reached previously, but the fact remains that offensively they’re pretty tame. They’re a tough team, and Chicago will probably be without star captain, Jonathon Toews, but the fact remains that Chicago is just an all around better team and will most likely bounce Phoenix. The ‘Yotes have a weird habit of giving the Hawks a lot of trouble, but with them having no offense and Chicago having a weak goaltender, I predict the games will be full of the Blackhawks bombarding Smith with dozens of shots every period and Smith standing on his head and saving most of them, while the Coyotes will not be taking shots that Crawford still somehow manages to let in. CHICAGO IN 7
(4) Nashville Predators VS (5) Detroit Red Wings Two bitter Central division rivals, both teams are pretty used to playing at this time of year, while only one is used to actually making a deep run. This is yet again another classic offense VS defense matchup, but what sets Nashville apart this year from the other years is that Pekka Rinne is basically the new Luongo here. He’s the only goaltender to have played over 70 games this season, and he’s been slumping in the final stretch, likely a sign of fatigue. He’s a fantastic player, but he’s also only human, he can only do so much before he starts to break down. The ever formidable blue line monstrosities in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter will pose an obstacle, but with Rinne worn out, the Preds are going to need a miracle to stave off all of Detroit’s weapons. The Wings may not be rolling as hot as they had been earlier in the year, setting the home win streak record, but Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Franzen will light the lamp while Bertuzzi and Kronwall will steamroll the opposition. And Lidstrom will be great simply by existing. I’d like to see Nashville make a run, because they’ve certainly earned it, but the old guard is still just too good. DETROIT IN 6
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(1) New York Rangers VS (8) Ottawa Senators Nobody expected Ottawa to make the playoffs at all this year, everybody expected New York to be something special, so on paper this seems like a clean sweep for the mighty almost-President’s Trophy winners, right? Well I’d be inclined to agree except for one interesting stat: Ottawa took the season series three games to one. This shows me that Ottawa could be the team that shocks us all and makes the Rangers look silly, there’s no doubt that Karlsson has been studlier than any stud on the blue line this year and Alfredsson and Spezza can still score with the best of them. But the fact remains that with King Henrik between the pipes and the monstrously high scoring offense led by Brad Richards and the amazingly not injured Marion Gaborik, Ottawa’s nonexistent defense and goaltending ability is going to crumble. NEW YORK IN 5
(2) Boston Bruins VS (7) Washington Capitals Well the B’s are defending champions and the Caps are the team that was SUPPOSED to glide its way to the finals after the acquisition of Tomas Vokoun as a backstop, but something happened in Washington that I can’t quite explain. Everything went wrong for them, from Ovechkin falling off his formerly unstoppable play to the long losing streaks and the ousting of coach Bruce Boudreau, Washington faced all kinds of adversity and obstacles that nobody suspected they would have to deal with. Regardless, they did manage to squeak into the playoffs within the last few games, and their reward is a tough, tough matchup against the stalwart champions. Boston’s defense is as stingy as ever and the team up front is nearly the same as the previous, Cup winning year. Once again, the underdog has the season series three games to one, but once again I think it’s all going to change in the playoffs. BOSTON IN 6
(3) Florida Panthers VS (6) New Jersey Devils I’m not even going to entertain the notion of Florida winning this matchup. The Panthers are a joke, nobody expects them to win, not even Panther fans, not even Panther players. They’re a mediocre team who had a surprisingly okay season in the worst division in hockey (yeah, even below the Northwest) who bumbled their way into a high seed thanks to their division being so terrible this year. The Devils are backstopped by arguably the best goaltender ever to play the game, with the added push of it being Brodeur’s last year. If there’s any team that’s going to push extra hard to get that coveted title purely out of respect for one of the greatest to play the game, it’s New Jersey. NEW JERSEY IN 5
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins VS (5) Philadelphia Flyers THIS is the matchup to watch in the first round. I honestly believe that the Pens have what it takes to just fly their way to the Cup finals without breaking a sweat, they’re on absolute fire as of late, Fleury is as good as ever, Malkin is a lock in my book to win the Hart trophy (if he doesn’t I’ll riot (HA I got one more in there!)), they’re scoring more goals as a team than practically entire divisions, and the mighty Sidney Crosby is back and healthy and just as dangerous as he was the day he was taken out. But with that said, if there’s any team that could hurl a monkey wrench into their plans, it’s Philly. The Broad Street Bullies are going to pound on the Pens, they are going to make this matchup absolutely unbearable. Look at the last few games between these teams, we almost had the coaches taking swings at each other. This rivals Chicago V Detroit in terms of pure hate between the two teams. The scariest part is that Philadelphia is also a talented team, offensively and defensively. The only worrying chink in their armor is goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who, consistent with Philadelphia tradition, is as streaky as they come. Philly’s chances depend entirely on which Bryz shows up, and even if the good Bryz laces up, Pittsburgh is still just too good offensively, their main flaw is that they play stupid against the Flyers, their discipline flies right out the window and that could easily backfire on them. Either way, I say the Penguins take the series, but it’s going to be very tough and it’ll wear them out, possibly preventing them from rolling to the Championship at full strength, if at all (spoilier alert, they’re my pick for the Cup this year, and this first round matchup is the only reason I’m not officially calling it already). PITTSBURGH IN 7
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