So what if two game 7s had no drama, they were great series and you were never going to top the Penguins/Capitals Game 6. We are down to the Final 4 and after a very spotty Kari Lehtonen-like Round 1 I rebounded with a Ken Dryden-like Round 2, going 4 for 4. The Conference Finals will be a challenge for my heart and my mind because they are both telling me two different things in both conferences.
Eastern Conference Recap-
Penguins/Capitals – The Penguins’ depth won the series. Both teams’ top two lines cancelled each other out and the Penguins 3rd line, the Rutherford line ( Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino), ate up Washington’s bottom defensemen. The Capitals tried to punish the Penguins but as the series went on they increasingly couldn’t catch the Penguins to hit them. It made the Capitals’ physical 3rd and 4th lines were ineffectual. The Capitals also made the mistake of always thinking everything was okay when clearly at 5-on-5 they weren’t. Washington’s goaltending edge coming in was negated by rookie Matt Murray’s steady if not spectacular work in the Pittsburgh net.
Lightning/Islanders – The Tampa Bay Lightning overwhelmed the New York Islanders. The Lightning have players who score big goals in big games. The Triplets (Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat) heat up every time the temperature does. Tampa Bay also has Victor Hedman on the blue line, a monster with incredible skill. Speaking of monsters Ben Bishop is in Tampa’s net, a Vezina finalist. The Islanders were exposed in this series as a team with a superstar, John Tavares, and a great 4th line but not much else up front. They also have good defensemen but no true number one like Tampa’s Hedman. Did anyone really think Islander’s Tomas Greiss is a Cup contender goalie?
Eastern Conference Prediction – This series will be fast. It will look like your Tivo is on FF 2. The Penguins have the edge in depth but their Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Geno Malkin will need to get on the scoreboard this series. Playing solid two-way hockey will not be enough to beat the Lightning because they will score goals. The Penguins have not played against a defenseman as skilled as Victor Hedman so far this spring. Injured defenseman Anton Stralman will return this series. Tampa’s blue line will then be more equipped to handle Pittsburgh’s waves of offense. The Lightning’s power play will win this series if Pittsburgh continues to take dumb penalties. If superstar Steven Stamkos returns to the Lightning lineup my pick maybe different. The Penguins hope Marc- Andre Fleury doesn’t have to return. Penguins in 6.
Western Conference Recap –
Blues/Stars – The Blues did what they had to do, barely. The Stars played above their heads and almost beat media-darling St. Louis without their best player (Tyler Seguin), a 3rd liner giving away a game with stupid penalty (Antoine Roussel) and completely unreliable goaltending. Blues captain David Backes had a great series but they won because the kid, Robby Fabbri, and newcomer Troy Brouwer refused to let St Louis underachieve or choke again. Blues center Paul Stastny showed why they brought him in last year and goaltender Brian Elliott showed maybe they shouldn’t have brought anyone in over the years and just let him play.
Sharks/Predators – Pekka Rinne kept Music City dry while standing on his head through six games but the levy broke in Game 7. To quote Robert Plant, “Crying won’t help you, praying won’t do you no good”. The Sharks are on a mission this post season. The old mainstays Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau swam in the fountain of youth. They are flying along with Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and the gang. San Jose’s offense wore down the NHLs best defense and by Game 7 Shea Weber and Roman Josi looked like minor leaguers not NHL All Stars. James Neal and Craig Wilson showed up this series but the rest of the Nashville forwards ran out of gas. Nashville had the impossible task of having to conquer California this year and almost did it. They have nothing to be ashamed of.
Western Conference Prediction – The St. Louis Blues will try to slow down the Sharks using tactics from the 90’s (the dead puck, garage league era). Whether the officials let them do it or not doesn’t matter. The Sharks have three lines that can score. The Blues only have one Alex Pietrangelo. The rest of the Blues defense is overrated. The Sharks defense will be able to withstand the Blues heavy game. Ken Hitchcock will need to play Vlad Tarasenko more than Steve Ott, but will he? Sharks in 7.
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