LOS ANGELES – It’s time to make those pesky first round predictions.
THE EASTERN CONFERENCE-
ATLANTIC
Panthers vs Islanders
The Islanders wanted the Florida Panthers and you know the old adage, sometimes you shouldn’t get what you want. The Isles have a true superstar in John Tavares, the best player in the series and the best 4th line (Martin, Clutterbuck, Cizikas) in hockey but the Panthers are better everywhere in between. Anders Lee is a huge loss for New York and Vince Trocheck is for Florida. Both teams’ defenses are solid, but Florida has a huge goaltending wedge with Roberto Luongo over Thomas Greiss. Jaromir Jagr maybe 44 but he has at least one great series left in him. Panthers in 7
Lightning vs Red Wings
This is the saddest series in NHL history. Both teams’ best players don’t want to be there. Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk wants to be in Russia. Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos wants out of Tampa Bay so bad he got a blood clot in his arm liking trade rumors on twitter. Detroit’s mainstays (Henrik Zetterberg, Nikolas Kronwall) are old. Nyquist and Tatar have not progressed and their young superstar Dylan Larkin hit a wall. Tampa Bay is riddled with injuries to key players but Ben Bishop will carry Tampa Bay over the Wings because Detroit’s goaltenders (Petr Mrazek, Jimmy Howard) can’t decide who wants to start or stop a puck. Lightning in 6
METRO
Capitals vs Flyers
The Washington Capitals are the best team in hockey going into the playoffs. They literally turned it on and off in games. They have the best goaltender (Braden Holtby) and the best defense 1-6. 50-goal scorer Alex Ovechkin wasn’t even their best offensive player; Evgeny Kuznetsov was. The Philadelphia Flyers are one of the worst teams in history to ever make the playoffs. Sorry Pierre McGuire… its true. Only six Flyers could even make the Capitals roster. You need an easy series to win the Cup and this is Washington’s. Capitals in 4.
Penguins vs Rangers
These are not the Pittsburgh Penguins of the last five years and these are not the Rangers of the last five years. The Penguins are a young, extremely fast team who forecheck teams to death. The Pens defense is now full of puck movers to get the puck to Sid, Geno and company. The Rangers look like a team ready to go golfing; a team that knows they’re no longer truly Cup contenders. The Blueshirts top defensemen (Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi) are banged up and King Henry has been yanked more than any other goaltender in the NHL this season. If the Flower is ready in Pittsburgh they won’t need Geno until the second round. Penguins in 5.
THE WESTERN CONFERENCE
CENTRAL
Stars vs Wild
The Dallas Stars won the tough Central Division and deserve an easy first round series. The Minnesota Wild will make life easy for the Stars. The Wild’s best player, leader and soul, Zach Parise, is injured. With or without Parise, the Stars have an overwhelming offense. Tyler Seguin didn’t even play the last month of the season and the Stars still put up gaudy numbers. The Dallas defense may not be championship ready but that is a worry for a later round. The Wild’s net minder Devan Dubnyk could steal a game or two but Lindy Ruff finally has some goaltending of his own in Dallas with Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen Stars in 5
PACIFIC
Blues vs Blackhawks
TSN better buy some extra large studio seats because St. Louis Blues Coach Ken Hitchcock’s big behind will be a studio analyst there sooner than later. The St. Louis Blues needed to win the Central Division and avoid the Chicago Blackhawks, they didn’t. The Chicago Blackhawks have Patrick Kane the NHL’s leading scorer and several game breakers; the Blues have one, Vlad Tarasenko. The Hawks have the best top three defensemen in hockey (Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Niklas Hjalmarsson). The Blues defense (Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo, and Jay Bouwmeester) is chronically overrated. The Blues goaltending is again a question mark. Chicago has a 2 time Cup winning net minder Corey Crawford. Hawks in 6.
Ducks vs Predators
Just in time for the playoffs, Anaheim Ducks’ Coach BBQ Bruce Boudreau has another goalie controversy. John Gibson has been shaky and Fredrick Andersen hurt but even mediocre Ducks goaltending should be enough to win this series. The Ducks offense has been rolling and their team defense has been best in the league good. The Ducks have been getting scoring from not only their stars (Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf) but also depth guys like Richard Rakell and Jamie McGinn who are now playing bigger roles. The Predators have 2 great defensemen (Shea Weber, Roman Josi) but not enough scoring up front. Nashville didn’t need to score much when Pekka Rinne was Rinne but he hasn’t been himself for a couple years. Ducks in 5
Kings vs Sharks
I really felt this was going to be the year the Sharks made some noise in the playoffs. Joe Thornton is having a resurgence in his career and young guys like Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi are giving this Sharks team a different feel. But then they got matched up against the LA Kings. The Kings are a team of monsters (Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, and Milan Lucic) with skill. Both teams’ defensemen are led by Norris trophy candidates, Brent Burns for San Jose and Drew Doughty in LA. Martin Jones is an upgrade in net for the Sharks but his old teammate, Jonathan Quick, has another level, a Championship level. Kings in 7
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