NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2

Prediction time! The second round of the playoffs starts tonight, so I hope you're all looking forward to it as much as I am.

Western Conference

Semi-Finals:

Vancouver Canucks vs Nashville Predators

I think the Canucks are going to go forward and get better and better after putting out their biggest rivals. However, the Preds have already shown they can deal with the flair teams. This one could be close but I think the Canucks will take it.

My Prediction: 4-2 Canucks

Detroit Red Wings vs San Jose Sharks

This one should be a fantastic series. The Red Wings dominated the Coyotes in the opening round and San Jose made fairly simple work of Los Angeles. Two sides with plenty of size, strength and skill are going to collide here and I can see this one going on longer than it did last year when San Jose beat Detroit in five. I believe the Red Wings will take this one in seven games.

My Prediction: 4-3 Red Wings

Eastern Conference

Semi-Finals:

Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning

The Capitals look very strong this year and should take this series. They out-played and out-fought the New York Rangers in the last round and I think they will do it again against a Tampa side that are just beginning to find their feet in these playoffs.

My Prediction: 4-2 Caps 

Boston Bruins vs Philadelphia Flyers

The Bruins are going to want to forget what happened last year against the Flyers at this same stage. Leading the series 3-0 they failed in each of the next three games to go forward. In Game 7 the Bruins were leading 3-0 only to see their lead vanish along with their Stanley Cup hopes as Philly went on to win the game and the series. This year I think the Bruins are better suited to going through and have the excellent Tim Thomas in net. In contrast, the Flyers are currently having major goalie issues. 

My Prediction: 4-2 Bruins

What do you think? Let's hear your predictions!

NHL Stanley Cup 1st Round

The first round threw up only a couple of surprises as most of the teams I expected to progress went on to the second round. Below you can see all the final scores and how they matched up to my earlier predictions.

Western Conference:

Detroit beat Phoenix 4 - 0

My Prediction: 3 - 4 (Phoenix win)

Well I was miles off with this one. I thought that Phoenix would be able to push Detroit just as far this year as they did last but, when their best player (Bryzgalov) doesn't play well, the Coyotes don't win, despite the brilliance of Shane Doan throughout the series and the emergence of Kyle Turris from his season-long slumber. Detroit were by far the better side and deserved to go through.

San Jose beat Los Angeles 4 - 2

My Prediction: 4 – 1

I wasn't too far off with this one. San Jose proved to be too much for LA, as we all thought they would. The Kings played some great hockey and, had they defended their 4-0 lead in Game 3 of the series, things might have turned out differently. Thornton, Marleau and Heatley were fairly non-existent to begin with but they are building up a head of steam right now and march on.

Nashville beat Anaheim 4 – 2

My Prediction: 1 – 4 (Ducks win)

Again, my predictive powers failed me. Despite a great series for Ryan, Getzlaf, Perry and Selanne, the hardworking Nashville Predators had too much grit and determination for the highly skilled Anaheim Ducks. Despite being knocked out, Bobby Ryan can find some solace in having scored one of the best goals in Stanley Cup history.

Vancouver beat Chicago 4 – 3

My Prediction: 4 – 3

Spot on for this one. Probably the best series out of them all. Vancouver went 3-0 up and the Blackhawks came right back to tie it. Vancouver had goalie issues and even let in a short-handed goal at the end of Game 7 to take the game into overtime before they finally overcame the team that has put them out of the last two Stanley Cup playoffs. Vancouver have shown they have more about them this year and I fancy them to go far.

Eastern Conference:

Washington beat New York 4 – 1

My Prediction: 4 – 2

Washington proved to be too much for the Rangers who simply could not match the speed and power of the Capital's forwards. The Rangers did push Washington hard and, had a couple of bounces gone their way in overtime, we could have been looking at a much closer series. However, the better team did go through. Washington look dangerous.

Tampa Bay beat Pittsburgh 4 – 3

My Prediction: 4 – 2

At one point I thought that the Bolts were on their way out. They were 3 – 1 down to the Pittsburgh Penguins after four games and that usually means only one thing. However, Steven Stamkos finally found his game in his first NHL playoffs and sparked a remarkable turnaround that ended with Tampa going through after a 1 – 0 win in Game 7. Pittsburgh will be wondering how this series got away from them.

Boston beat Montreal 4 – 3

My Prediction: 4 – 3

Nailed this one. With the history between these two sides, how could this series not have gone seven games? It would have been a travesty. It was another memorable seven games in the Bruins/Canadiens saga and, in the end, the better team went through for sure. The Bruins, now they have put out their biggest rivals, look very well placed to reach the Conference Final and even the Stanley Cup Final.

Philadelphia beat Buffalo 4 – 3

My Prediction: 4 – 0

I was way off with the series score, but not with the eventual winner. Philadelphia were without Chris Pronger for the early part of this series and it showed. However, on his return, the Flyers found their game and ground out some hugely important wins including a pivotal overtime win in Game 6 that allows them to move on. They will have to resolve their goaltending issues if they are to go as far as they did last year. Buffalo will be kicking themselves for letting this opportunity to progress to round 2 slip away.

I'll be back later to preview the next round!

NHL Trade Deadline Day Round-up

I'll start this one off by saying that I was mightily disappointed by the lack of action in the last 24 hours of the trade deadline. We didn't really see any massive trades which I believe is partly due to how tight the race for the playoffs in the Western Conference is. There are so many teams that can still make the playoffs that only a couple of teams were selling. It would also seem that those that were selling were asking for a lot in return for their players.

The biggest trades were the ones listed below, many of which occurred in the last couple of weeks.

• Colorado trades Chris Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk and a second-round pick in 2011 or 2012 to St. Louis for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and a first-round pick in 2011 or 2012
• Boston trades Joe Colborne, a first-round pick in 2011 and a conditional second-round choice in 2012 to Toronto for Tomas Kaberle
• Los Angeles trades Colton Teubert, a first-round pick in 2011 and a conditional pick in 2012 to Edmonton for Dustin Penner.
• Nashville trades a first-round pick in 2011 and a conditional pick in 2012 to Ottawa for Mike Fisher
• Pittsburgh trades Alex Goligoski to Dallas for James Neal and Matt Niskanen
• Washington trades David Steckel and a second-round pick in 2012 to New Jersey for Jason Arnott

Looking at those trades above you have to say that Edmonton did well to get what they did for Dustin Penner. He is a 30+ goals a year man but he is surplus to requirements in Oil City because of his age (28) and what Edmonton are trying to achieve there.

Toronto did very well as they enter a rebuilding phase by selling off the likes of Kaberle, Versteeg and Beauchemin. In fact, here is exactly what they got:

• Joffrey Lupul  
• Aaron 
• Joe Colborne
• Jake Gardiner    
• No. 1 pick in 2011           
• No. 1 pick in 2011      
• No. 3 pick in 2011        
• No. 2 pick in 2012 (conditional) 
• No. 7 pick in 2012    
• No. 4 pick in 2013 (conditional)

What a haul for the Maple Leafs! GM Brian Burke certainly has grabbed himself plenty of pieces with which he can rebuild his fallen franchise.

It wasn't just Toronto and Edmonton who did well out of selling. The Sens managed to collect a hoard of picks too.

• Craig Anderson    
• Ryan Potulny       
• No.1 pick in 2011 
• No. 2 pick in 2011
• No. 2 pick in 2011 (conditional)       
• No. 6 pick in 2011
• No. 6 or 7 pick in 2011
• No. 2 or 3 in 2012 (conditional)

Not only did they get those picks and great potential in net with Anderson, but they also managed to clear a ton of cap space too. Ottawa are primed to rebuild in a massive way this summer.

The same goes for the Florida Panthers who mimicked the Sens' activity.

I guess after looking at what the Sens, Leafs, Panthers and Oilers managed to do over the last couple of weeks, you would have to say they biggest winners after the deadline were the sellers.

Boston were fairly active over the last couple of weeks and I think they were the team that got the strongest out of the trades. They acquired Kaberle (a target of theirs for the past couple of years) and added more depth to their forward lines. They are obviously hoping this will be their year as they gear up for a big Cup run.

I guess Washington also did well in finally acquiring a good second-line centre in Jason Arnott. With that move some of the pressure is taken off the top line of Ovechkin, Semin and Backstrom.

Here is a link showing the activity of all 30 teams leading up to the deadline.

I don't know how I manged to make this blog post a big one.

Anyways, enjoy!

Home-Stand Success for Desert Dogs

Bryzgalov, Doan and Jovo celebrate a win

The Phoenix Coyotes' recent home stand has been a massive positive for two reasons. First of all, the Coyotes have gotten back to winning ways, playing the same gritty defensive game that served them so well last season. Secondly, they have started to make the Jobing.com Arena a hard place to go. While their home record is still not great, the last few games have started to push it in the right direction.

The Coyotes have played six of their last seven games at home and have won six in a row since receiving that 6-0 battering from Vancouver on the 2^nd of February. That game seems to have given the Coyotes a well needed kick up the backside as they have been excellent since. Phoenix have beaten the likes of the Stars (in Dallas), the Blackhawks and the Capitals during their six game streak and have looked very strong defensively in all of those games.

The home stand has not been without its problems however. It looks like veteran defenseman Ed Jovanovski is going to be out for a significant amount of time after fracturing his orbital bone in a head collision at the end of the second period against the Thrashers on Thursday night. The Phoenix blueline will miss Jovo's leadership skills and his presence on the ice for sure, however, this may be a chance for some of the younger defensemen to show what they can do as they will undoubtedly get more ice-time in the wake of the injury.

Next up for the Coyotes is a ten-day, five-game road trip that looks very, very difficult on paper. While there are plenty of games left in the season, these five games could be crucial to the Coyotes' hopes of making the playoffs. These games will also be a good test for this team, allowing the fans and players a chance to see where the Coyotes rank amongst some of the more elite teams of the NHL.

The first game is against the Nashville Predators who are very similar to the Coyotes in the way they play. I am predicting a low scoring game there. Next up will be the Flyers and then the Lightning, the two best teams of the Eastern conference. The last two games, against the Blue Jackets, and the Blackhawks respectively will be a chance for the Coyotes to take more points off their Western Conference rivals.

The keys to a successful road trip will be:

• Ilya Bryzgalov staying hot between the pipes. Bryz has been the biggest reason behind the Coyotes' recent success.
• Big defensive effort. The Coyotes have simplified their game and gone back to what makes them a successful team. By reducing the scoring chances against, they give themselves a better chance of winning.
• Jovo's replacement stepping up. With such a big player out, whoever it is that steps into his place must have an excellent five games.
• Team scoring. With no true goalscorer, the Coyotes rely on all their forwards to pitch in with goals and assists. This needs to continue.

First game of the road-trip is on Saturday. The puck drops at 8:00pm CST.

NHL Predictions:

As we have reached the halfway point in the NHL season (or thereabouts) I thought it might be time for some early predictions. Who is going to make it to the Stanley Cup playoffs?

Eastern Conference:

1. Washington Capitals – After bouncing back from their awful slump, I can see this team going from strength to strength and forcing their way back to the top of the Eastern pack. Possible favourites for the Stanley Cup? I think so.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins – I think Crosby and the Penguins will have their work cut out for them fending off the Flyers, but they might just be able to do it and hang on to the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

3. Boston Bruins – It`s a straight race between Boston and Montreal for top spot in the North East Division and I reckon it will be Boston who grab it. Tim Thomas is having a great season for them in net and they are proving to be consistent all over the ice.

4. Philadelphia Flyers – The Flyers are continuing on from where they left off last season and look like they should make the playoffs with ease this year. I'm not sure they will go as far as they did last year however.

5. Tampa Bay Lightning – Stamkos and St. Louis are leading the charge for the Bolts and will see their team into the playoffs without too much of a problem. If Stamkos can keep scoring at the rate he is, Tampa could be the surprise package of the East.

6. Atlanta Thrashers – The Thrashers are looking like a solid team this year. Both Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom are playing very well for Atlanta and should help keep the team on course for a playoff appearance.

7. New York Rangers – The Rangers will be desperate to get into the playoffs this year after missing out so narrowly last season. With Lundqvist in net they look like they should have enough to get there too

8. Montreal Canadiens – The Canadiens are going to find it tough to hold on to that last playoff spot but I think they will manage it. They have cooled down recently but still look better than most of the teams below them. I can't see them going too far in the playoffs though.

Well its plainly obvious that I think the eight teams that are in the playoff spots now will still be there at the end of the season. Carolina could break in if they find some consistency but I'm fairly confident in my choices.

Western Conference:

1. Detroit Red Wings – The Red Wings are back to their best this season and are looking very strong indeed. I'm not sure any more has to be said about them.

2. Vancouver Canucks – The Canucks are looking very dangerous this year. They are scoring freely and have the best defence (statistically) in the Western Conference. With Luongo in net as well, this could be Vancouver's year.

3. San Jose Sharks – The Sharks have been going about their business quite quietly after a rather poor start. They are marching up the table and racking up wins in a confident and professional manner. I think they will take back the top spot in the Pacific Division, but whether or not they can win the Cup is another thing.

4. St. Louis Blues – Another team that have been going about their business quietly are St Louis. They are proving to be very hard to beat this year without scoring a ton of goals. Currently on a five game winning streak, I think they will finish very strongly in the second half of the season.

5. Dallas Stars – If the Dallas top line keeps playing as well as it has so far, they could prove to be the most dangerous opponent to face in the first round of the playoffs. Cup contenders? They could be a great outside bet.

6. Los Angeles Kings – The Kings have cooled down a little since their fantastic start to the season but they still look dangerous and have more than enough quality to secure themselves a playoff berth.

7. Chicago Blackhawks – While they don`t look as good as they did last year, the Blackhawks are still far too good to miss out on the playoffs and they should find some form soon enough. If anything is going to keep them out of the playoffs, it will be their injury troubles.

8. Colorado Avalanche – The acquisition of Fleischmann from the Washington Capitals has proved to be a great deal for the Avalanche so far. He bagged himself a hat-trick not too long ago and has been putting up points solidly since his arrival. Anderson is playing well between the pipes too. For those reasons, they may have just that little bit more than their rivals to sneak into the last playoff spot.

So there we have it, my predictions are done. I really wanted to put the Coyotes in that last playoff spot but they have just been making far too many mistakes. Perhaps they will sort themselves out and mount a serious challenge but I just can't see how they are going to do it with the squad they have. I hope they prove me wrong.

Caps snap slide against Senators.

Things were getting rather unpleasant for the all-star Washington Capitals of late. Eight straight losses for Alex Ovechkin and Co had send them plummeting down the Eastern Conference table and had allowed the Atlanta Thrashers to take the top spot in the South-East division. However, last night's 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators puts the Caps back on top even if they are only one point ahead of the Atlanta Thrashers and two points ahead of Tampa Bay, both of whom have played less games than Washington. It will come as a massive relief to both fans and players who, just like me, would never have expected such an impressive team to go on such a losing streak. This will make the battle for the South-East division title far more exciting than it has been in recent years but I still expect Washington to triumph after the 82 games. They won't succumb to another slide like that this season, a slide which could prove to have a silver lining.

Let me explain...

Last season Washington breezed to 121 points and the President's trophy. They didn't know what it was like to hit a bad patch. So, when things turned against them in the playoffs against Montreal, they couldn't react in the right way because they didn't know how to react, and were sent crashing out in the first round. However, this season they have experienced a rough patch. They tasted frustration and defeat for eight straight games. They know now that their team can be exposed, by anyone.

My theory is this...

This is a team that could arguably be more dangerous now than it was when it seemed invincible. Why? Because they are armed with a new experience. They are armed with the knowledge of how to overcome a rough patch. They know what changes they need to make to their game and they know what extra levels of effort must be reached to grind out a vital win and take momentum back. In short, they now know how to react to what happened to them last year in the play-offs and that could be very dangerous indeed. 

Can Ovechkin lead the Caps to a Stanley Cup?