Penguins Vs. Canadiens

#4 Seed VS. #8 Seed
Analysis: This series gets started up on Friday in Pittsburgh and features the 4th seeded Penguins against the 8th Seeded Canadiens. After a shocking collapse by the Capitals, this is a dream matchup for the Penguins. While what Montreal did in round 1 was quite impressive, I feel as if the much more composed and team oriented Penguins will be too much for the Canadiens to handle. Crosby will continue his crazy scoring pace in this round, while Malkin will not be far behind. Much of the Canadiens success was because of an awful Capitals power play. Letang and Gonchar add that backend punch that will surely see the Penguins take advantage of power play opportunities. I like that Montreal called up P.K. Subban and his youthful enthusiasm is much appreciated by the Canadiens, and this little playoff stint will give him some big experience headed into next season. Kostitsyn, Pleckanec, and Cammalleri will need to come up huge if the Canadiens have any hope of advancing. Unfortunately for the Canadiens I see this series ending much quicker than the last one. While Halak has clearly played amazing to finish the Capitals, I don’t think he can keep going on the pace that he was. Hal Gill will need to continue to block a crazy amount of shots to help out Halak. Fleury will be better than Varlamov was and thus will keep the Penguins alive.

Prediction: Crosby and the Penguins are much more team oriented and unselfish than the Capitals and this will be a huge factor. I guarantee that the Penguins will light the lamp on the power play and that you will probably see Carey Price at some point this series. I truly feel that this series could be a sweep; however taking sweeps in round 1 burned me so I’m going with PITTSBURGH IN 5.

Key Players: Pittsburgh: Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury, Gonchar, And Letang. Canadiens: Halak, Cammalleri, Pleckanec, Gill.

Bruins Vs. Flyers

#6 Seed VS. #7 Seed
Analysis: This series kicks off Saturday afternoon in Boston and features the 6th seeded Bruins against the 7th seeded Philadelphia Flyers. The quote of this series is “Watch out for Good Teams, who have had Bad Seasons”. As both the Bruins and Flyers upset higher seeded opponents in the first round. Boston played well against the Sabres and came back and won 3 separate games when they were losing after two. Essentially I think they ran into a tired Ryan Miller after carrying a heavy workload and then the Olympics. The Flyers were even more impressive dismantling the Devils in 5 games. This series also could be focused on injuries, having Savard return could be a major boost for the Bruins, and losing Carter and Gagne is going to be tough on the Flyers. Look for Mike Richards to continue to put up points and be a key leader for the Flyers. Claude Giroux also have a very impressive first round and I’ve got faith that he will put up some much needed points for the Flyers in round 2. Watch for the battles between Danny Carcillo and Milan Lucic or any other forward that gets in his way. On defence it is the battle of the big men, Zdeno Chara and Chris Pronger. I’m giving the edge to Pronger as he has a knack of leading teams deep into post seasons and his experience will be huge for a generally young Flyer squad. For the Bruins watch for the return of Marc Savard to add some needed punch up front. You have always got to keep your eye on crafty veteran Mark Recchi as he somehow still manages to light the lamp. Tuukka Rask has had an outstanding season and I will give him an edge over Boucher although Boucher did face a tougher offensive team in round 1.

Prediction: Philadelphia dominated a strong Devils team in round 1 and I feel that they will also have success in this round. I doubted Boston in round 1 and they proved me wrong also dismantling the Sabres although I think that wasn’t entirely because of Boston being the better team. Chris Pronger will lead the Flyers physically and will contribute on the score sheet as well and thus my pick for this series is PHILADELPHIA IN 6.

Key Players: Bruins: Savard, Recchi, Bergeron, Chara, And Rask. Flyers: Richards, Giroux, Carcillo, Pronger, Boucher.

Eastern Conference Playoffs

Here is my breakdown and analysis of the Eastern Conference round 2 matchups.

Sharks Vs. Redwings

#1 Seed VS. #5 Seed
Analysis: This series opens up Thursday night in San Jose and features the Sharks versus the 5th seeded Detroit Redwings. Both of these teams overcame struggles in their first round series before finally figuring it out and advancing. Knowing that the Sharks advanced while only having 1 goal scored from their first line is pretty scary, and I expect the stars for the Sharks to get going this series, which only means trouble for Jimmy Howard. Howard looked good and bad over the course of the series with Phoenix but came up big when he needed to. If the Sharks can muster the amount of shots they had last series expect Howard to crumble under the rookie playoff pressure. Detroit won every game in the series where Zetterberg scored, so look for his success to be a factor in how Detroit does. Datsyuk had a very nice series and expect him to continue putting up points. Franzen contributed nicely in round 1, but will need to put up a few more points for Detroit to succeed. Detroit however needs to start getting more points from their defence, Lidstrom and Rafalski need to step up in this series, especially on the power play. Look for Dan Boyle to continue to put up points from the Sharks backend and coming on strong at the end of last series. In the play-offs the power play is usually a big key to success, look for the team who can take advantage of this the most to be the series winner. I think I have to give the goaltending advantage to the Sharks, because of experience and wanting to show the league that he is still a dominant goalie, Nabokov will be solid. Rob Blake has been playing solid hockey and he will use his veteran knowledge to help the young Sharks overcome an extremely strong team from Detroit.

Prediction: San Jose will not be able to rely solely on their lower lines for the scoring punch, and success will start and end with the first line’s production. While this series can definitely go either way, I have a feeling it is finally San Jose’s season. For that reason I am going with SAN JOSE IN 6

Key Players: Sharks: Thornton, Marleau, Heatley, Boyle, Blake, and Nabokov. Redwings: Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Franzen, Howard.

Blackhawks Vs. Canucks

#2 Seed VS. #3 Seed
Analysis: This series opens up Saturday night in Chicago and features the 2nd seeded Hawks against the 3rd seeded Canucks. This has got to be one of the most anticipated matchups of the playoffs so far, after having Chicago eliminated the higher seeded Canucks in last year’s post season. Both of these teams also featured struggles in the first round, but both ended up winning in 6. For the Hawks the struggles centered around the goaltending of Anti Niemi, whose play so far has got me confused because he either gets a shut out or allows 4+ goals. He needs to figure it out this series or else the Canucks will light him up and it will be a quick series. For the Canucks the struggles centered on taking penalties and the penalty kill which was quite poor. The first line of the Canucks is scary and all had impressive series points wise against the Kings. However after that there isn’t much to be scared about as the lower lines generally haven’t put up many points. The lower lines of the Canucks will need to step up if the Canucks hope to advance. Kane and Toews continue to lead the way in the scoring department for the Hawks, and Kane has always had Luongo’s number so that should create an interesting matchup for the Canucks defence. Having Hossa and Sharp also give the Hawks more scoring depth than the Canucks which could prove to be huge in this series. Duncan Keith didn’t have a very good series point wise but after a strong game 6 I anticipate this will change and he will light the lamp against the Canucks. Success for the Canucks revolves around keeping composed both on and off the ice, talk around the league “out to get” the Canucks early in the first series is not the type of talk that a team in the post season needs around them. They need to figure out the penalty kill and seriously miss shot blocking hero Ryan Johnson. Should be interesting in watching which off season acquisition plays the bigger role Samuelsson or Hossa.

Prediction: This is going to be a wild series; I anticipate it to be high flying with a ton of offence. Niemi scares me and the Hawks success clearly will rise and fall with his play. Luongo always has a heavy load and the added games of the Olympics could be tiring him out, if the Canucks lose, watch for him to be on the receiving end of the blame. I think the Hawks have the firepower to eliminate the Canucks but it comes down to Niemi, I think he can figure it out and lead the Hawks to victory. CHICAGO IN 7.

Key Players: Blackhawks: Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp, Keith, And Seabrook. Predators: Luongo, Sedin’s, Samuelsson.

Western Conference Playoffs

The following will be my breakdowns and analysis of the Western Conference 2nd round matchups.

Round 2.

Hello Everyone,

Round 2 is now upon us. Very exciting games in all of Round 1, expect much of the same as the puck gets dropped on Round 2.

#1 Seed VS. #8 Seed
Analysis: This series opens up in San Jose Wednesday night and features the Western Conference’s top team Sharks against the Avalanche from Colorado. Picked to be a bottom feeder at the beginning of the year the Avalanche has been one of the league’s biggest surprises this season. Much of this has been due to the stellar play of goalie Craig Anderson. Against an offence like the Sharks the playoff hopes of the Avalanche rest squarely on Anderson’s shoulders. The Sharks have been known for playoff struggles but I anticipate this year being different, watch for Thornton, Marleau, and Heatley to produce and lead the team to a first round series win. Watch for Avalanche star Paul Stastny and rookie sensation Matt Duchene to have decent playoffs. Keep an eye on gritty forward Chris Stewart, who has surprised this season by leading the team in goals. Watch for a first round scrap against Sharks forward Ryan Clowe to be a beauty. On defence the Sharks are led by Dan Boyle and veteran Rob Blake who even at 40 seems to get the job done. The Avalanche defence is led by Captain Adam Foote and a bunch of young power play specialists like John-Michael Liles and Kyle Quincey who lead the man advantage situations. In the Sharks net is Evgeni Nabokov, who is hoping to bounce back after a disappointing Olympic Experience. I think he will play better than Anderson and that will be the difference.

Prediction: The Avalanche’s magical season comes to a quick end, look for bigger and better things next season. Watch for San Jose to dominate most of the games. SAN JOSE IN 5

Key Players: Sharks: Thornton, Marleau, Heatley, Boyle, Blake, and Nabokov. Avalanche: Anderson, Stastny, Duchene, Foote, Stewart.

#2 Seed VS. #7 Seed
Analysis: This series kicks off Friday night in Chicago and features the #2 seed Blackhawks against the #7 seed Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks battled with San Jose all season for the top seed and came up just short in overtime against Detroit. Anticipate Pat Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, and Marion Hossa to all dominate offensively and create tons of problems for the Predators defence. Everyone knows what these players bring to the table what will be interesting will be to see how the complementary players of Chicago will contribute. Watch for Dave Bolland and Andrew Ladd to contribute offensively as well. For the Predators watch for forward Patric Hornqvist to have a coming out party this postseason and make advancements for the future. On defence the Blackhawks are stacked with Norris trophy candidate Duncan Keith and fellow D partner Brent Seabrook. The Predators also have defensive studs in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter who both play a punishing physical game and have heavy shots. The one question mark about the Blackhawks is in net although Antti Niemi has earned the starting nod with quality starts after the Olympic break. Pekka Rinne has been solid all season for the Preds after finishing third in the league in shutouts. Niemi won’t have to stand on his head to win any games in this series because of the powerful Blackhawk offence.

Prediction: Nashville has had a decent season and will continue to improve for the future. While I think it is possible that they may steal one I think the series will end in a Blackhawk sweep. CHICAGO IN 4.

Key Players: Blackhawks: Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp, Keith, And Seabrook. Predators: Hornqvist, Sullivan, Weber, Suter, Rinne.

#3 Seed VS. #6 Seed
Analysis: This series opens up Thursday night in Vancouver and features the #3 seed Canucks against the #6 seed Kings from LA. This series in my opinion is going to be the most interesting series to watch in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Up front the Canucks boast one of the top lines in the league with the Sedin twins dominating and young Alex Burrows chipping in offensively all season. The Canucks also have talented forward Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuelsson but beyond that the cupboard seems quite bare. The Kings first postseason berth since 2002 has been fuelled by dynamic forwards Anze Kopitar, Alexander Frolov, Dustin Brown, and gritty veteran Ryan Smyth. Look for young Wayne Simmonds to play a key role if the Kings hope to Advance. Defence is the most glaring weakness I see in the Canucks, beyond Christian Ehrhoff and Alex Edler the rest of the corps leave much to be desired. The Defence of the Kings is led by dynamic sophomore Drew Doughty who along with Jack Johnson, Rob Scuderi, and Sean O’Donnell is one of the main strengths of this young team. Watch for Drew Doughty to be a game changer and solidify his status as one of the best up and coming defensemen in the league. In net you have two goaltenders whose seasons have gone quite similar. Both Roberto Luongo and Jonathan Quick started hot and after both made their respective Olympic teams have struggled since coming back. The low point for Luongo was an 8 goal thrashing by this very King team on April 1st. He will need to be sharp if the Canucks hope to advance deep into the playoffs. Watch for Los Angeles to capitalize on Canuck penalties, and look for the Kings penalty kill to step up and shut down the Sedin twins.

Prediction: Very exciting series with lots of scoring and action at all ends of the ice. The Sedin twins have gone from heroes to zeros in past postseasons and I think the Kings defence are up to the task of shutting them down. My gut is telling me to take the Canucks but I’m going with my heart and picking LOS ANGELES IN 7.

Key Players: Canucks: Luongo, Sedin’s, Burrows, Kesler. Kings: Kopitar, Frolov, Smyth, Simmonds, Doughty, Johnson, Quick.

2010 Western Conference Playoffs

#4 Seed VS. #5 Seed
Analysis: This series opens up Wednesday night in Pheonix and features the #4 seed Coyotes against the #5 seed Wings from Detroit. The Coyotes have been one of the nicest surprises this season, and it is really a testament to the players who had to spend all offseason wondering where their home was going to be. This has been a weird season for Detroit who after sitting at eleventh spot for most of the season have jumped up the standings all the way to 5th spot. Watch for dynamic Wings forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg to continue to rack up the points in the postseason. The gamechanger for the wings however falls of the shoulders of Johan Franzen whose return from injury has played a major role in the Wings climb. Don’t forget about Tomas Holmstrom and Todd Bertuzzi who can always be found right in the face of the opposing goaltender. For the Coyotes look at young forward Woltjek Wolski to be one of the main offensive leaders along with Shane Doan and Lee Stempniak who has been a nice surprise since his arrival at the deadline. On defence the Wings have perennial Norris trophy candidate Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski to lead the way. Watch out for Niklas Kronwall who has a knack for laying punishing hits in the postseason. In Pheonix the main defender is Keith Yandle who has been an offensive surprise this season and should continue to do so in the future. Look for Ed Jovanovski and Adrian Aucoin to lend some much needed experience. In net Ilya Bryzgalov has been dynamite for the Coyotes all season finishing second on shutouts behind only Brodeur. Jimmy Howard has been a nice surprise in the 2nd half of the season for the Wings, look for him to show he wants to be the guy of the future and have a big series against the Coyotes.

Prediction: The Coyotes have had a nice season but it is unfortunate they run into a powerful Wings team who had a rough start to the season. This series will add some much needed experience to the Coyotes for the future whether that be in Pheonix or not. Franzen contines to dominate in the playoffs and unfortunatly for the Coyotes its DETROIT IN 6.

Key Players: Coyotes: Bryzgalov, Wolski, Doan, Stempniak, Yandle, Jovanovski. Wings: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Howard.

The following posts will be my analysis of the 2010 Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoffs. Feel free to comment on any of the matchups.

2010 Eastern Conference Playoffs

#1 Seed VS. #8 Seed

Analysis: This series opens up Thursday night in Washington and features the high flying Capitals against the lowest seeded Canadiens from Montreal. The President Trophy winning (121 pts) Capitals showcase one of the most high flying offenses in hockey. Expect a lot of points from Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Semin. Meanwhile Montreal comes in as a team who just barely made the playoffs thanks to an overtime loss against Toronto. Questions surrounding Montreal’s Goaltending situation adds to my lack of confidence regarding their playoff hopes. Will be interesting to see how the Canadiens offseason additions attempt to correct their recent postseason struggles. For the Canadiens to have a chance they must figure out how to shut down Ovechkin and Co. And capitalize on their Power Play chances.

Prediction: Theodore has usually struggled in the playoffs in the past but the Capitals are just too strong for the Canadiens. WASHINGTON IN 4.

Key Players: Capitals: Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, Knuble, Green, Theodore. Canadiens: Cammalleri, Gionta, Gomez, Markov, Bergeron, Halak.

2010 Eastern Conference Playoffs

#2 Seed VS. #8 Seed

Analysis: This series kicks off Wednesday night in New Jersey, and features the 2nd seed Devils against the 7th seed Flyers of Philadelphia. While the Devils finished 2nd in the East the Flyers easily dominated the season series between the teams 5-1. Brodeur always plays a major role in any hopes the devils have of contending for the Cup and this year is no different. The Devils play well defensively which was shown by winning the William Jennings trophy for allowing the fewest goals against all year. The Flyers play a gritty style of hockey and never quit, watch for the Flyers to attempt many stretch passes to get behind the Devils defence and in on Brodeur alone. This series will be a long and hard physical battle between two geographically close teams. For the Flyers to succeed they are going to need Boucher to come up with some timely saves. Will be interesting to see how Kovalchuk does in only his 2nd career postseason. Watch for Parise to play a major role in the Devils offense and if the Devils want to contend for the cup they will need a breakout playoff from him. Watch for Jeff Carter to be the offensive leader for the Flyers, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux and rookie Van Riemsdyk will also need to put up points if the Flyers are to upset. Chris Pronger will keep up with his nasty reputation and physically dominate the Devils Forwards.

Prediction: This series will be a grind and definitely have fans on the edge of their seats. Look for the Philly crowd to give the team a major boost for home games, as the arena is always loud and hostile. Watch for close games, decided by one or two goals. First upset of the Postseason has PHILADELPHIA IN 7.

Key Players: Devils: Brodeur, Parise, Kovalchuk, Langenbrunner, Martin, White. Flyers: Carter, Richards, Gagne, Carcillo, Pronger, Boucher.

2010 Eastern Conference Playoffs

#3 Seed VS. #6 Seed

Analysis: This series kicks off on Thursday night in Buffalo, and features the 3rd seed Sabres facing off against the 6th seed Boston Bruins. Although Boston did win the season series 4-2 all games were close usually decided by one goal. I anticipate this series to be much of the same. I expect the games to be generally low scoring gritty matchups, with one mistake being the difference. This series is a clash of two very high end goaltending, everyone knows about the season sabres goalie Ryan Miller has had, it is Boston’s Tuukka Rask (whose stellar play has stolen the starting job from Tim Thomas) who is the most surprising in this series. I think Boston would have had a better chance had they had Marc Savard in the line up, without him however I think they will struggle offensively. That being said watch out for Crafty Veteran Mark Recchi, and Patrice Bergeron to have decent playoffs. Buffalo’s scoring will be generated from Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek, and Jason Pominville who have all had decent seasons. On the back end it will be a battle of the two giants, Veteran Zdeno Chara is always a force however look for rookie of the year candidate Tyler Myers to have a coming out party this postseason. The hopes and dreams of Buffalo will definitely ride on Miller’s shoulders.

Prediction: Miller is too strong for the offensively struggling bruins, this series will be full of close games but I see it ending as BUFFALO IN 5.

Key Players: Buffalo: Miller, Roy, Vanek, and Myers. Boston: Rask, Recchi, Bergeron, and Chara.

2010 Eastern Conference Playoffs

#4 Seed VS. #5 Seed

Analysis: This series opens up Wednesday night in Pittsburgh and features the 4th seed Penguins against the 5th seed Senators. The defending Stanley Cup champions, Pittsburgh Penguins are on a quest to repeat with the majority of players still in place from last year. Obviously Crosby, Malkin, and Staal return to form a trio of high-end centers; the question will be how the wingers help these guys maintain their form from last year. Although Alex Ponikarovsky has struggled since coming over at the trade deadline I think he will be a nice addition and make the team stronger down the stretch. Look for Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz to chip in offensively every now and then too. In Ottawa the amazing trio of Heatley, Spezza, and Alfredsson has been broken up, but since returning from injury Spezza has been lighting it up. Alfredsson is also no stranger to playoff scoring and I anticipate Mike Fisher putting up some points as well. On Defence, I feel that both clubs are quite deep, Pittsburgh is led by Gonchar, Orpik, Leopold, and Letang. Ottawa is led by Volchenkov, Phillips, and rookie Karlsson. Also watch out for new addition Andy Sutton who has dealt some punishing hits this season, Crosby and Co. Will definitely have to keep their heads up when Sutton is on this ice. In Net the clear favourite is Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury who is a better tender than both Brian Elliot and Pascal Leclaire. Watch Pittsburgh to capitalize on power play opportunities when Crosby and Malkin are put together, with Gonchar and Letang providing offensive support from the back end.

Prediction: Spezza and Co. Will not go down easily, However Pittsburgh is just too deep for Ottawa to be able to contend every night. Jordan Staal will have a dominant series over the weaker lower lines of Ottawa. PITTSBURGH IN 6.

Key Players: Pittsburgh: Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury, Gonchar, Letang. Ottawa: Spezza, Alfredsson, Fisher, Phillips, Volchenkov, Sutton, Elliot.

Hello Everyone, The following posts will be my analysis and predictions of the Eastern Conference for the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Feel free to comment or dispute any of the predictions.


-Naaasty