NHL Playoff Preview – Eastern Conference

The NHL Stanley Cup tournament is set, now we just need the games to begin. Before we arrive at that point starting Wednesday evening, it is time to breakdown what should happen and we will start in the Eastern Conference, where a lower seed has pulled at least one upset each of the last two years. Odds are courtesy of Bookmaker.com.

(1) Boston vs (8) Montreal

For Boston Bruins fans this is an uncomfortable matchup. Are the Bruins better, yes, they have hardnosed players and though not having a scorer in the top 11 in the league, they finished second in the NHL in scoring. Boston’s top three lines all can score, making them dangerous across the board and they do not allow opposing netminders like Montreal’s Casey Price to catch his breath often. The Bruins slumped for about a month, from the first part of February to the mid-point of March, mostly due to injury. Nearly all the injured players have returned and they closed 8-2.

Montreal can play with the Bruins, despite the disparity in seeding. The Canadiens have the physiological edge having won 24 of 31 playoff series and in 2002 and 2004 they beat Boston as the lower seed, just like this time. If the referees allow more physical play, Montreal will be at a serious disadvantage, since they are in hockey terms “soft”. After having the best power play each of the last two years, the Habs fell to 13th, while Boston’s improved to fourth.

There is no compelling argument to make for Montreal with goalie Casey registering five wins in last 18 games between the pipes, however it’s the Bruins and Canadiens and anything is possible. Boston needs to jump on Montreal at home and they were 29-12 on home ice this season with the Canadiens having lost 15 or last 20 road games.

Pick- Boston (-325) in six

(2) Washington vs (7) N.Y. Rangers

If one has a hockey preference towards end to end action and scoring or prefers tight low scoring hockey, both will be in evidence in this series. The Capitals scored 272 goals, the third highest total in the league. They are led by Alex Ovechkin, who finished second in points scored and they have a whole stable of forwards that can all bury the puck in the net, with the likes Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin. Washington isn’t going to scare anybody with its defense that ranked 19th in goals surrendered. Goalie Jose Theodore is a wild card of sorts and has to prove he can be consistent, which is not his trademark.

The Rangers are as comfortable as any team in the league with a 1-0 lead, since they were sixth in defensive scoring and dowdy 28th in putting the puck in the net. Though Henrik Lundqvist didn’t have his usual glimmering numbers in net, he’s capable of turning into a brick wall at any time. The matchup of the Rangers number one penalty kill unit and the Caps second ranked power play will be key. Even with the Blueshirts having offensive issue, they still have seasoned playoff vets like Scott Gomez and Chris Drury who can light the lamp and Sean Avery could get Theodore off his game with his antics.

Washington won three of four meetings this season, but didn’t dominate as 14-11 total score shows. If the Capitals receive a better than average effort from Theodore, they will pepper the net to wear down New York. The Caps are 37-14 on home ice, but don’t have a ton of experience in Stanley Cup action. If the Rangers can take advantage of Washington being up ice and capitalize a few times, they can lock up the net against Ovechkin and company. The Rangers are 8-1 in this playoff round the last two years.

Pick- Washington (-215) in seven

(3)New Jersey vs (6) Carolina

For fans that don’t watch or follow the NHL until the playoff chase begins, seeing New Jersey and Carolina colliding is like putting on your favorite most comfortable shirt. This will be the fourth postseason matchup between these teams over the last eight years. Carolina lost two meaningless games to close the season and was on 12-3 roll prior to that. Goalie Cam Ward put the clamps down on opposing snipers, giving the Hurricanes much needed confidence. The return of forward Erik Cole gave Carolina three complete lines and Eric Staal and Ray Whitney have made the Hurricanes exceedingly dangerous.

New Jersey isn’t the same boring team that played the neutral zone trap; this team actually tries to score as opposed to just picking spots. The return of future Hall of Famer Martin Broduer was welcomed, though he finished just 4-7 and hasn’t been nearly as effective in the postseason in years. Zach Parise has become an elite point producer for the Devils; however he will be marked man, as Carolina will try to find out if New Jersey has any secondary scorers.
New Jersey first has to stop Staal, since Carolina is 22-5 when he scores. The Devils have to win home games and won 24 of last 32 contests at the Prudential Center. These teams are very similar and goaltending will be tantamount and a piece of evidence could make the difference in this series. The Hurricanes blue-liners have outscored their New Jersey counterparts by better than 2 to 1 on the season. If that continues, Carolina will advance.

Pick- Carolina (+120) in six

(4) Pittsburgh vs (5) Philadelphia

Sometimes announcers will trot out clichés like, “These two teams don’t like each other” and the fact is it just isn’t true. However, when it is true, that just leads to a heighten sense of excitement for a best of seven series. This is the Keystone State clash and these teams went toe to toe in the East Finals a year ago. Both teams are different from 2008, but how either could win is still pretty much the same. How Philadelphia handles players named Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal will help determine their fate. All three are as healthy as they have been all season and why replacement coach Dan Bylsma was able to steer the Penguins from 10th in the East to fourth with 18-3-4 finish.

Philadelphia can bring a little offense to the party as well, having six players that totaled 20 or more goals, including four like Jeff Carter who broke the 30-goal barrier. The Flyers blew last game of the season to lose home ice advantage in this series, which places added pressure on goalie Martin Biron to perform at high level, something he has struggled over stretches of games.
To say these teams are evenly matched is an understatement. They finished the regular season with 99 points each and scored the exact same number of goals on the season at 264. Neither is stellar in there own end and they are separated by a one in goals allowed. Pittsburgh prefers to dazzle opponents with its array of stars and scorers, which means Philly has to hit, to slow down Penguins. Whatever team that can win the special team’s battle with gain an edge and it is more incumbent on the Flyers to do so, since Pittsburgh is better five on five.

Pick- Pittsburgh (-155) in six