Western Conference Predictions - Round Two

(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings

The first round saw the Sharks able to jump their first obstacle (a person by the name of Craig Anderson) on the path to playoff redemption, and their reward is a date with the two-time defending Western Conference Champs - a team that just demolished one of the league's stingiest defensive teams 6-1 in a Game Seven to advance into the second round. But things are far from peachy for Todd McLellan's club. See, when your top three forwards (Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Dany Heatley) combine for as many goals as Dwight Helminen, odds are your team may be in trouble. Joe Thornton's first round was so bad it almost offended me as a hockey fan. He'll need to sack up if San Jose has any shot of taking home rings this spring, let alone get past Detroit. Ryane Clowe, Devin Setoguchi, and especially Joe Pavelski - who has developed into San Jose's most clutch player by a wide margin - were phenomenal against Colorado. For Detroit, it's the same old, same old. Their leaders - Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Brian Rafalski - were excellent in their first round victory over the upstart Coyotes, while Jimmy Howard battled a few tough stretches to help bring the Wings into round two. The Wings will need to continue to get production from their top players, and will need Tomas Holmstrom and Dan Cleary to cause mayhem in front of San Jose's net. San Jose must get their top players going, get a stellar performance in net from Evgeni Nabokov, and do their best to limit Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

Prediction: Datsyuk and Zetterberg continue to dazzle at both ends of the ice, while Johan Franzen piles pucks behind Nabokov. Thornton does little to aid his abysmal playoff repertoire, and the Sharks have trouble finding ways to score.

Outcome: Detroit in five.

(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (3) Vancouver Canucks

Nothing fuels a good, old fashioned hockey hatred like a long hard-fought playoff series. If last year's spring and this year's regular season matchups between these two clubs are a sign of things to come, this series should be rough, tough, and downright dirty. Both Chicago and Vancouver overcame formidable opponents in the first round, and as such, both will be 100% ready for the grueling series this is bound to be. For Chicago, expect big performances from their leaders - Jonathon Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, and Duncan Keith. If they receive a few big performances from some of their secondary sources (Roberto Luongo's enemy in the paint, Dustin Byfuglien, comes to mind), a solid performance from Antti Niemi in net, and are able to contain Daniel and Henrik Sedin they will undoubtedly be successful. Vancouver will require big performances outside of the Sedins, who I expect to have a solid series. Mikael Samuelsson was an absolute beast against Los Angeles, and Pavol Demitra improved mightily after a slow start. You know Ryan Kesler will bring his "A-Game," but Alex Burrows - injured, or not - will need to be better offensively for the Canucks to bring their "A-Game" to the table. Luongo needs to find a level of consistency that he simply did not have against Los Angeles.

Prediction: There will be scrums at every whistle, momentum swings left and right, and up-and-down performances from both Niemi and Luongo. At the end of the day, the Hawks superior depth on defense prevails.

Outcome: Chicago in seven.

Eastern Conference Predictions - Round Two

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens

Sidney Crosby against the team that he worshipped as a kid. Can David take down another Goliath? Is Jaroslav Halak the next Patrick Roy...the next Ken Dryden? Make no mistake about it; the storylines coming into this series are bountiful. For the Halak-led Habs to advance past the defending champs, the recipe is simple - keep doing what you're doing. But, even if they continue to play with the same level of passion and receive another other-worldly goaltending performance from Halak, they still will be in tough to pull off another upset. Pittsburgh will be a much tougher test than were the Capitals - they have a coach who actually makes adjustments, a team that will be more than willing to block shots as the Habs did in their first round series, and possess an overall commitment to team defense that is vastly underappreciated in hockey circles, abroad. Can Hal Gill and Josh Gorges limit Crosby as they did Alex Ovechkin? Can they limit Pittsburgh to one power play goal, as they did against Washington? Can they compete with the deadly combination of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal down the middle?

Prediction: Halak plays admirably, the Habs play hard, but the Pens keep the wheels moving as they did versus Ottawa. Crosby plays well, and Malkin and Staal perform better than they did in Round One.

Outcome: Pittsburgh in five.

(6) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers

This series really peaks my interest for the simple reason that both teams are playing arguably their best hockey of the year. The Bruins are getting great contributions from all over the ice - the Patrice Bergeron-led offense, to the Zdeno Chara-led defense, right down to Tuukka Rask in between the pipes. David Krejci has begun to look like the 70-point player he was a season ago, Milan Lucic is finally showing signs of life after battling to come back from a high ankle sprain, and Marc Savard looks to be good-to-go for Game One. Philadelphia is flying high thanks to the play of Chris Pronger, Matt Carle, and Kimmo Timonen on the back-end, the play of Captain Mike Richards up front, and the solid and steady play of Brian Boucher in net. But, losing the services of Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne will certainly hurt. I'd expect a lot of low-scoring tight games, and as such, special teams will be vital. One big thing going for Boston - they have no problem playing in tight games, even when they fall behind, as was the case against Buffalo.

Prediction: The series is long and low-scoring, and tight games are prevalent. The Bruins continue to receive great play from the duo of Bergeron and Mark Recchi up front, and Rask continues to impress. The Flyers, once again, garner great performances from Pronger and Boucher, but have some trouble breaking through Boston's grueling team defense.

Outcome: Boston in seven.

Around the Rink: A Look at Each Playoff Series

Sometimes timing is everything. Roman Hamrlik's brutal pinch with under 20 seconds left in the second period of last night's Game 4 loss at the hands of the Capitals turned this game, and this series, on its head. Mike Knuble cashed on a nice feed from Boyd Gordon to tie the contest heading into the intermission, and the Caps proceeded dominate in the final frame...Nicklas Backstrom has been hands down the best player in this series...even when Alex Ovechkin seems to be a little "off" he's still bringing it, as illustrated by his filthy tie-breaking goal early in the third period - he's third in playoff scoring behind Backstrom and #87...Marc-Andre Bergeron still playing a regular shift at even-strength...wow.


The Sabres have been very unimpressive against a Bruins team that clearly wants it more than Lindy Ruff's squad...Ryan Miller has been great, but so too has Tuukka Rask...Patrice Bergeron should've been a Selke candidate over the likes of Jordan Staal, who would've been fourth on my ballot - Bergeron's been unbelievable all season and in this series, as well...

Supposedly Lou Lamoriello blew a gasket at Devils' Coaches after Game 4's loss...Martin Brodeur needs to be better, as he's played well in just one game in this series...the players in front of him, who have looked slow, flat, and downright old need to play better, too...Chris Pronger is good at hockey, for those who didn't know...it will be interesting to see how the Flyers fair without Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne, it goes without saying that these are tremendous losses...Daniel Carcillo is the worst actor this side of Entourage's Johnny Drama...

Sidney Crosby is ridiculously good, and is playing arguably the best hockey of his NHL career - 31 points over his last 12 games - are you kidding me? Jason Spezza turns the puck over too much in bad areas at bad times...Pascal Leclaire starting tonight for the Sens...that should bode well (sarcasm)...Maxime Talbot has been unbelievable thus far; everything he does from this point forth will just add to the playoff legacy that he built for himself last spring...The Penguins look to be in top-form at the right time - sound familiar?

Joe Pavelski is officially the only clutch player on the San Jose roster; without him they could technically be golfing right now...Upon last check Joe Thornton still has no hair on his peaches...Craig Anderson is the truth, and should've been a Norris Candidate over Brodeur - anyone who watches the Avs know Anderson has come up with more big saves at big times this year than any tender, while Brodeur still gets the nod based on reputation...Poor Dan Boyle...Chris Stewart will go down as far from a one-year wonder...

Nashville has wanted it more than Chicago over the first three games...Patrick Kane has been great over his short playoff career...I expect Jonathon Toews to step to the forefront tonight in Game 4...not so sure about Joel Quinneville's decision to put Dustin Byfuglien back on defense...Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, and Dan Hamhuis deserve more accolades than they receive, which is due in large part to playing in the anonymity of Nashville...

The Vancouver-Los Angeles series has been the most entertaining series thus far...Drew Doughty, the best defenseman in the NHL? I'd be hard-pressed to support an argument against him...I've never been a big Mikael Samuelsson fan, but he's had a great season and an even better playoffs...Henrik Sedin's goal last night was a beauty...Wayne Simmonds is a heckuva player...Roberto Luongo is doing nothing to silence the critics who love to note his past playoff performances...Alexander Edler has been very impressive, especially with his physicality, while Sami Salo has continued to be a "steady eddy" on the Vancouver blue line...

Henrik Zetterberg was built for the playoffs...I was very impressed with Jimmy Howard's response in Game 4...If you don't know who Keith Yandle is, get used to hearing his name - one of the best up-and-coming defensemen around...The 'Yotes would love to see Captain Shane Doan, their best forward by a country mile, back for Game Five...

Some Playoff Musings...

Talk about parity, huh?

The first three and half days of playoff hockey have produced the following:

- Nine one-goal games - excluding empty net goals that number would be 12...there have only been 13 games played.
- Five series tied up at one game apiece, with the other three series yet to play their second games.
- The seventh and eighth seeds from both conferences won their opening game.

Say what you will about the parity in the regular season standings being a result of the "three point game" - which is completely true - but there's no denying that all 16 playoff teams have very realistic shots of moving into the second round and beyond.

Here are a few things I've noted throughout the first 13 games on the path to Lord Stanley's Cup...

1. Sidney Crosby is the best player in the world. I know, I know, I'm beating a dead horse here, but it's hard not to talk about a guy who continually impresses in big situations. The Pens' Captain does everything at 100 miles per hour - combine that with Crosby's skills and smarts, and you're looking at a player who simply will not be denied.

2. Speaking of one Shattuck-Saint Mary's alum (Crosby), how about the effort from the Devils' Zach Parise last night? You know what you're getting with Parise every game, every period, and every shift. To say the Devils will go only as far as Parise will take them would be foolish - you know Parise's going to be driving the bus, the only question is if the rest of the Devils will hop on board. Last night, they certainly did. On a side note, how happy does Ilya Kovalchuk look to be suiting up in the playoffs for a true Cup contender?

3. Andy Sutton's hit was clean. Vicious, but certainly clean.

4. It's taken a while for me to move to the position that Montreal should keep Jaroslav Halak and move Carey Price (assuming of course they decide to keep one and move the other - having two goalies in the NHL isn't like having two QB's in football. It can work if done properly, at least in the short-term. Obviously you need to move one and get some value in return, at some point.) I've always felt Montreal can't move Price because of his superstar potential, but Halak has proven he's a stud in his own right.

5. Kudos to Nashville for playing a sound and patient road game in their opening tilt in Chicago. Pierre Lebrun does a great job of breaking down the Preds' "quiet swagger."

6. Despite the Caps' regular season dominance, I've remained skeptical of their ability to win in the post-season employing their particular "run-and-gun" style of play. I tweeted this R.J. Umberger quote a couple weeks back:

"I don't think any team in the West would be overmatched by them. They play the wrong way. They want to be moving all the time. They float around in their zone, looking for breakaways and odd-man rushes...A good defensive team is going to beat them (in the playoffs). If you eliminate your turnovers and keep them off the power play, they're going to get frustrated because they're in their zone a lot."

This much is certain - Washington's best players need to show up. Alex Ovechkin laid an egg in Game One. Mike Green did nothing to dispel the lingering sentiments of his poor performance in last spring's playoffs, and was beaten to the net by Scott Gomez on the game-tying goal, to boot.

7. How about the 'Nucks Alexander Edler doing his best Scott Stevens impression on Thursday? Great game from Edler. The Kings are going to need to generate more scoring chances on Roberto Luongo to be successful (obviously). I thought Daniel and Henrik Sedin played well, but so, too, did Drew Doughty. The Jack Johnson-Randy Jones pairing? Not so much. I thought Jones was a bit of a hack in Philly, and he didn't leave me feeling any differently after Game One.

8. How are the Sabres going to give up a two-goal lead to the Bruins? Claude Julien's squad will never quit, and they deserve their share of the credit, but I found the Sabres' decision to take their foot off of the pedal at the beginning of the second period incomprehensible. Tim Connolly definitely isn't playing at 100%. If Thomas Vanek is out for Game Three, it'll be interesting to see if the Sabres recall Nathan Gerbe.

9. The Detroit/Phoenix series has been very exciting. Odds are if you left your television to take a wiz or snag another brew last night midway through the second period, you missed five quick goals - not exactly what you'd expect from these two solid defensive squads. It puts a smile on my face to see Shane Doan playing meaningful springtime hockey again.

10. That big sigh you heard last night around 1:30 a.m. (EST) came from Doug Wilson.

Cup Finals Predictions

Eastern Conference Champion: Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference Champion: Chicago Blackhawks

Stanley Cup Prediction: Pittsburgh in seven.
Stanley Cup Champion: Pittsburgh Penguins

Conn Smythe: Sidney Crosby
Leading Scorer: Sidney Crosby

I didn't even think about it until I finished writing out my predictions - can you imagine of Marian Hossa lost his third straight finals, and his second straight to his former mates? That would just be cruel.