Missed any action in the first round? Here's the best from the past week of action.
Eight teams are left, the Conference Semifinals are now set. We saw a sweep and three game sevens in the first round, will there be more? Advancing into the second round of Lord Stanley’s Playoffs is the President’s Trophy winner, the Detroit Red Wings, a team that plays in the “Shark Tank,” the San Jose Sharks, and a team that has turned back the clock ten years with its play of renewed veterans in the Colorado Avalanche. Even the Dallas Stars won a first round series for the first time since 2003. The NHL’s playoff leading goal scorer, Danny Briere, elevated the Flyers past the Capitals in a game 7 while Sidney Crosby continues to spit out two points per game and lead his Penguins to face the Rangers, a team of star studded veterans. Last but not least, a team with THE best arena atmosphere in the league, Montreal, was led by the Kostitsyn brothers past the pesky Bruins. They even have riots!
A Recap of the first round:
Eastern Conference:
Western Conference:
#1 Detroit defeated #8 Nashville 4-2
#1 Detroit defeated #8 Nashville 4-2
I predicted correctly 3 series in the West and 6 of the 8 teams to advance. I was totally wrong about Dallas, picking Anaheim in 5 and also Washington in 7. So I’ll give it another shot in the second round.
Second Round Previews:
Eastern Conference:
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#1 Montreal Canadiens vs. #6 Philadelphia Flyers.jpg){kind=small}
Montreal faces off against another team in which, like Boston, it has gone undefeated against the regular season. The Canadiens took all four meeting during the season, but as we all know, the playoffs are different. Philadelphia played a tough, physicals series in Washington which had one of the rowdiest crowds in the first round. The Bell Centre will be no problem for them. The biggest question mark for Montreal is Carey Price. At only 20 years old, he has never had any playoff experience, except for the series against Boston. Danny Briere continues to score goal after goal leading the Flyers, and there is no reason why he cannot keep doing so. However, Montreal has a better defense than Washington (obviously). With Mike Knuble out indefinitely, goals are only going to be harder to come by for Philadelphia. The speed up front for Montreal and being able to roll all four lines will be the difference maker, that’s if the Canadiens can improve on their 3-33 power play.
My Pick: Canadiens in 6
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#2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 New York Rangers.jpg)
Coming from the same division, these two teams meet often. The Rangers won 5 of the 8 matchups during the regular season and quite frankly, I don’t see why that cannot continue. Sure the Penguins have Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. But I’d rather take Chris Drury and his 15 (if not 16) game winning playoff goals. The man lives for the playoffs. Jaromir Jagr leads the team in points with off-season acquisition Scott Gomez only a point behind. Brendan Shanahan has also won 3 Stanley Cups before and is more than capable of leading the team. Where Pittsburgh has an advantage is on the blue line. Sergei Gonchar is not only a scoring machine but a physical force as well. Complementing him is big ole Hal Gall and Ryan Whitney. New York’s best defensemen are Michael Rozsival and Daniel Girardi, see my point here? But back in net, it’s hard to take Marc Andre Fleury over Henrik Lundqvist. Fleury is playing great right now but has been shaky before, and it wasn’t all that long ago…say December? Lundqvist is a three-time Vezina finalist and finally has a great team in front of him. The veteran forwards on the Rangers will be the key on offense and defense. I have to stick with my preseason favorites…
My Pick: Rangers in 6
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#1 Detroit Red Wings vs. #6 Colorado Avalanche.jpg){kind=small}
These two old rivals haven’t met in the playoffs since Detroit spanked Patrick Roy 7-0 in game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. Since then, Detroit has owned Colorado in the regular season, but Colorado has many players back from their ’01 Cup Run. Peter Forsberg is a dominant force again, Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk remain, but Adam Foote also returns. They’ve added Jose Theodore in place of Roy, but will he be enough? The series no doubt will be a good one especially since the grind line, Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper, and Darren McCarty are back together. While the Red Wings have Tomas Holmstrom to distract Theodore, the Avalanche have Ryan Smyth to stand in front of Chris Osgood. While Adam Foote was able to contain Marian Gaborik in the first round, he’ll have a heck of a lot more on his hands with Datsyuk and Zetterberg. On defense from Detroit is Niklas Kronwall who should be able to show off more of his bone crushing hits. Detroit is getting too much secondary scoring right now to be stopped. Jiri Hudler couldn’t buy a goal in the last month or two of the season but is tied for the team lead in points. Even Darren McCarty has chipped in with a goal. Plus, the only other time when Lidstrom scored from center ice in the first round of the playoffs on the road, the Red Wings won the cup. I want to say Wings in five, but it has to go longer than that.
My Pick: Detroit in 6
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#2 San Jose Sharks vs. #5 Dallas Stars.jpg){kind=small}
For the past two years, this is where San Jose’s journey has stopped; the second round. For Dallas, this is the first year since 2003 that they’ve made it this far, and boy oh boy did their team look good against the defending Champion Ducks. While San Jose hasn’t taken nearly as many penalties as Anaheim did, the Sharks penalty kill is the worst in the playoffs right now. Dallas’s power play is second best to Calgary and they were able to score 10 power play goals in the first round. While Joe Thornton and Ryan Clowe lead the Sharks, Brendan Morrow and Mike Modano have risen again to lead the Stars. San Jose has the better goalie in Evgeni Nabakov, but Marty Turco is no benchwarmer. He played a solid series in the first round and is only looking to prove himself more against the Sharks. The Dallas Stars defense is going to be key in stopping Thornton, Roenick and Clowe, especially with Sergei Zubov not yet back. Even though San Jose looks to have many advantages on paper, Dallas seems so worthy of an upset. Lets factor in that the Sharks just went through seven games with one of the toughest first round opponents, the fact that they have gone out with a chance to reach the Western Conference Finals the past two years, and on nothing more than a gut feeling, I’ll take the Stars. San Jose won’t get so lucky this time in game 7.
My Pick: Stars in 7
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