It’s only hours before the start of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Finally. Monday and Tuesday of this week went about as quickly as a snail on sandpaper. In anticipation for tonight’s puck drop, I bring you a concise preview of the Eastern Conference’s first round playoff matchups.
Mind you, I’m going to approach this differently than most. There are already one hundred gazillion different places that you can get a thorough breakdown of the teams, their playoffs history, their injuries, their head-to-head; a statboy’s wetdream.
None of that here. This playoff preview will be good, clean, statisticless fun. If this blog post was a movie, and it was being rated based on the amount of statistics in it, it would be rated G. According to the rating-system poster, even a giraffeish animal would be admitted.
But I digress.
What I will give you is a brief synopsis of the matchup, based purely on my own observations and musings over the course of the season.
(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) New York Rangers
Might as well get this one out of the way. If you’ve found your way to this blog then you already know all about this series. The Capitals had the number 1 seed locked up for a few days before they knew who they would be playing, and Washington fans watched the race for the 8 seed with unblinking eyes. Buffalo, Carolina, or the frightening Rangers? We didn’t want to see the Blueshirts. Not after the misery they put us through this year. Hell we’d even have rather seen Ryan Miller and the Sabres. Such was not to be, and thanks to the Carolina Chokeapotamuses, the New York Rangers limped their battered and bloody way into an 8th seed.
But not before Zdeno Chara blasted one of his NHL-hardest slapshots into the ankle of the Rangers’ best forward (no offense, Gaborik), shattering it in an explosion of bone and viscera (at least that’s how I like to imagine it), and leaving the Rangers depleted on their top line, on their backcheck, their powerplay, and their penalty kill. Thank you, Zdeno Chara, from the Washington, DC collective.
All of a sudden the Callahan-less Rangers aren’t quite so scary. Lundqvist is undoubtedly the biggest obstacle for the Capitals, but Washington severely tips the scales in terms of both talent, and in playoff experience. Unless I miss my mark, deadline-acquisition Brian McCabe account for more than half of the Rangers playoff experience on the blue line. Those youngsters facing off against the Washington forwards, including Ovechkin, who has the best goals per playoff games in NHL history, is a matchup to keep an eye on.
That said, the Capitals have a pair of young defensemen of their own right. We know John Carlson is a big game player (those are two separate links, mind you). How about you, Alzie?
All in all, the pressure is squarely on the shoulder of the Capitals in this one. The entire NHL knows about their previous playoff failures, and that one seed looms largely next to their name. On the flipside, the Rangers are happy to be in the playoffs, and aren’t weighed down by expectation (though that NY media sure is harsh, isn’t it?)
Lundqvist will play well- he always does- but without their best forward, without any experience to speak of on the blue line, and with the Caps coming into the playoffs off their best defensive season in franchise history, I don’t see this series lasting too long.
KK’s Prediction: Caps in 5.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs (7) Buffalo Sabres
This is an interesting match-up. The Flyers spent a large chunk of the season perched atop the Eastern Conference. I spent the entirety of that chunk listening to friends tell me how great the Flyers were (their interest in hockey no doubt renewed by a flukey Flyers run last season). I rebutted their unchecked enthusiasm by pointing out (aided by my all-too-fresh playoff memories) that the regular season was worth about as much as a hill of beans.
The more the season went on, the more the Flyers reminded me of the last year’s Caps: high-octane offense and suspect goaltending. I began to make the bold prediction that the Flyers would be this year’s surprise first-round exit.
Well now that they’ve paired up against the Sabres, I’m not so sure about that prediction anymore. Buffalo, in my opinion, is a solid team. But not solid enough to knock out the Flyers. The Sabres have stellar goaltending, solid defense, and above-average special teams. But I don’t think it’s going to be enough. Perhaps if Vanek and Stafford can really produce, and if Bobrovsky plays as poorly as he did at the end of the season, the Sabres can eek out an upset here, but I think the Flyers are destined for the second round.
That said, if the Sabres can steal one at the beginning of the series, look for HSBC Center, which was top 10 in the league in attendance this year, to be absolutely teeming. That’s not a building I’d wish to play in. Welcome back to the playoffs Buffalo. Do the rest of the league a favor and make a splash.
KK’s Prediction: Flyers in 6.
(3) Boston Bruins vs (6) Montreal Canadiens
Now here is a playoff matchup that everybody with a head screwed properly onto their neck should be excited about. This is rivalry and hockey-history at its finest. These teams hate each other. I’m talking about scorching, red-hot scorpion hatred. I like to think that if Tim Thomas and Brian Gionta happenstanced upon each other in a grocery store they would drop their grocery carts and throw up the fisticuffs while shoppers and employees alike cheered them on.
Put these two teams together for a minimum of 4 consecutive games, and there will be fireworks. Do you think Montreal has forgotten about Chara-Pacioretty? Do you think Boston gives two craps in a can whether Montreal has forgotten or not? Oh yes, this is a series I plan on tuning into for each and every game. There is nothing like rivals of this caliber meeting in the playoffs. Nothing.
I think Boston is the better of the two teams, and I think they’re built very well for the playoffs. Thomas had a record breaking season, but I’m firmly of the belief it was a result of Claude Julien’s system. Having a behemoth like Chara protecting the net doesn’t hurt so much either. The playoffs are about protecting your own net, and crashing the other one. With big-time big-bodied forwards Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton taking the reigns on the offensive side on the ice, the Bruins have plenty reason for high hopes.
Despite what I consider to be a mismatch in talent, I think this rivalry is going to go to 7 games, each one packed to its lid with excitement, violence, drama, and hopefully a fair measure of brawling. But in the end, the better team wins. Canada isn’t bringing home their first cup in 16 years from the Eastern side of things. Their hopes lie with Vancouver.
KK’s prediction: Boston in 7.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (5) Tampa Bay Lightning
Ah, this matchup is a Caps fan’s dream. Two teams that we hate duking it out in the first round, whichever team emerging victoriously hopefully the worse for it. I’ve had my eye on this matchup ever since the Caps took the lead back in the Southeast, pushing Tampa to 5th. When the Flyers began choking at the end of the season I was worried that they would throw a wrench into the works of this matchup, but alas, the stars were aligned, and Caps fans are given a treat. Would you watch Hitler box Stalin? Would you watch Hussein wrestle Osama to the death? Then you’re likely also interested in the Pens vs the Bolts.
Now, let’s get one thing clear. I hate the Penguins as much as the next guy. Quite frankly, I probably hate them way more than the next guy. I’ve tracked the Sidney Crosby with a doggedness that has probably reached a pinnacle of unacceptableness (it’s not a word, I know. I know.) hoping the entire way that he doesn’t return. Still, one can’t help but admit that the Pens have been impressive. With Crosby and Malkin out for a large chunk of the season, they still managed to win consistently, finishing the year only a point behind the Eastern Conference leading Capitals. Damn. I almost wasn’t even expecting them to make the playoffs.
Bylsma is a good coach, he’s got a good system, and he’s gotten his players to buy-in and stick with it. But the playoffs are a different animal. The Pens aren’t going to be going from city to city, team to team. They can’t just walk into a stadium, execute their system, steal a win with a few secondary and tertiary goals, and then go on to the next.
Or can they?
I say not. Tampa Bay is excited to be back in the playoffs, and they have a roster loaded with talent. After a game or two, whatever Bylsma is doing wont be much of a secret anymore. We’ll see if he’s able to adjust his game plan. I’ve been asserting that without Crosby and Malkin, the Pens aren’t going to have enough to get out of the first round. When the matchup with Tampa was confirmed, I became even more sure of it. The Bolts have too much firepower, and Guy Boucher has proven he’s no fool. Stevie Y turned this team around, and he’ll be rearin’ to go in the playoffs.
Sorry Pens, not this year.
KK’s prediction: Lightning in 6.
Well there you have it. I’m on record. Agree or disagree all you like. Starting tonight, we’ll begin to see if I was sold a faulty crystal ball.
KK.