Western Conference
Chicago Blackhawks (1) vs. Minnesota Wild (8)
The Blackhawks went half the season without a regulation
loss, gave up the fewest goals and scored the second most. Then can roll four lines and have 8 defensemen
who can play. The only thing lacking was
success on the power play as they were mid-pack, but the penalty kill was
great. Minnesota added some big names
then still struggled to make the playoffs as goaltender Niklas Backstrom played
poorly the last two weeks of the season.
If he gets hot, they can compete, but don’t look for an LA Kings like
upset in this matchup. Hawks in 5.
Anaheim Ducks (2) vs. Detroit (Sucks) Red Wings (7)
I still can’t see how this Ducks team did so well, but they
quietly earned the second seed in the West without a lot of scoring but two
stellar goaltenders. Plus they beat the
crap out people. They hit and fore check
and bang and crash. As for the Wings, I
was kind of rooting for Columbus to catch them, or at least for a first round
matchup with the Hawks. The Wings just
don’t have enough talent this year.
Ducks in 6.
Vancouver Canucks (3) vs. San Jose Sharks (6)
This could be fun to watch.
Don’t forget, the Sharks got bounced by the Canucks in the conference
finals in 2011. Antti Niemi was all
world for the Sharks this year, who started hot, were terrible in the middle of
the season then caught fire at the end.
Vancouver is Vancouver, but with a different starting goaltender as Cory
Schneider is number one. I think Niemi
outplays Schneider. Sharks in Seven.
St. Louis Blues (4) vs Los Angeles Kings (5)
The Kings are the same team they were last year. The Blues surged late behind Brian Elliot to
snag home ice in this series. Jonathan
Quick heated up near the end of the year.
This is going to be a great series with tons of hitting and physical
play, and probably not a lot of goals.
Blues in 7.
Eastern Conference
Pittsburgh Penguins (1) vs. New York Islanders (8)
Wow, the Penguins sure played well without Sidney Crosby,
Evgeni Malkin and various others down the stretch. Geno is back, Paul Martin is back, Chris
Letang is back. The only thing that
could stop this team in the first round is Evgeni Nabokov standing on his
head. And that might happen. For a game or two. Pens in 6.
Montreal Canadians (2) vs Ottawa Senators (7)
How did the Senators make the playoffs with all of their
injuries? Can Montreal overcome last
season’s disappointment? Will the glue
and tape finally fall off Ottawa’s bus?
I wish I had a good poutine joke to insert here. Canadians in six.
Washington Capitals (3) vs.
New York Rangers (6)
Ovechkin was on fire the
second half of the season. It’s as if he
took every negative comment directed at him, squished it into a little ball of
hate, ate it, then went out and scored 32 goals. The Rangers limped along all season and even
sent Marian Gaborik packing at the trade deadline, to Columbus of all
places. Will the Caps keep it
together? Ovechkin is on a mission this
year. Expect King Henry to steal a game
or two for the Rangers. Caps in 7
Boston Bruins (4) vs. Toronto
Maple Leafs (5)
Welcome back to the Stanley
Cup playoffs, Maple Leaf fans. Your team
overachieved. Boston is still a deep
team, and Tukka Rask played great as the number one and Boston was able to keep
his workload light. Toronto was a little
unsettled at times in net this year, but James Reimer played well down the
stretch. One of the highlights of the
season for me was hearing the Bruins fans singing the national anthem together
just after the Boston Marathon bombing.
I’ll go with the Bruins experience.
I mean, they have Zdeno Chara. He
is tall. Bruins in 6.
Round 2 coming up as soon as
round one is over. Good luck everyone!
