The wreckage the lower seeds did in the East changed the entire playoff picture. Most believed Pittsburgh would have a challenging time repeating as Eastern Conference champions for a third straight year, but with the top three seeds now on vacation the Penguins are unquestionably the team to beat now. Pittsburgh is a -165 favorite to rule the East, with their dubious opponent Montreal at +700. Three weeks ago it would be hilarious to believe Boston (+375) or Philadelphia (+400) would have an inkling of opportunity to be in the Eastern finals, yet one of them will.(4)Pittsburgh vs (8) Montreal
On occasion in sports, an individual will do something so unusual, their name will be associated it. In baseball, Mario Mendoza was a slick fielding shortstop in the 1970-80’s, but was a terrible hitter during his career and his name became used as the Mendoza Line, for batters hitting above or below .200.
If goalie Jaroslav Halak can continue to play like he did against Washington and Montreal could upset Pittsburgh, a hot goal-tender might forever me known as having the “Halak Effect”. Montreal became the first team to knock off a No.1 seed in the first round since the NHL playoffs went to present format in 1994 and though dominated frequently in puck possession and shots, they played well enough and made sure the Capitals felt the mental pressure and let Halak do the rest.
An understated aspect of what the Canadiens accomplished was they were quicker to the puck and willing to block shots with the body and clogged passing lanes to mess up Washington’s timing. Though the Caps had a ton of shots, quality was certainly lacking.
Pittsburgh has the benefit of watching more tape on Montreal and has the confidence of being in The Finals the last two years, which will make them tougher to rattle. This is where the Habs have to continue to forecheck expertly and Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec have to score. Montreal will begin the series extremely confident and is 18-10 in road games after two or more Under’s.
Sidney Crosby continues to be dumbfounding and he leads by example, which is why Pittsburgh is unflappable. Lose first game at home to Ottawa, win the next three. Lose Game 5 to clinch series and trail in next contest on the road 3-0, score four straight goals and wrap up series, nothing to it.
With Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Stall, Pittsburgh has a relentless attack that offers no quarter for opposition. The trio had 25 points in six games (10 goals and 15 assists) and each is a creative operator, which leaves Montreal with situations they cannot prepare for. A rested Penguins squad is all but unbeatable with 13-0 record playing five or fewer games in two week window.
Metminder Marc-Andre Fleury will let in the occasional soft goal, but is sturdy when needed most and savvy veteran Sergei Gonchar is dependable blue-liner along with other lesser known teammates on this star-studded squad. They will try to take advantage of the Canadiens frailties in the second round that shows 3-16 record.
Pittsburgh will attempt to crack the Halak code and grab leads to unsettle Montreal. The Penguins do play looser than necessary and Montreal will have to take advantage of each opportunity and try and bottle up the Pitt power play similar to what they did to Washington. The Canadiens will battle valiantly, but come up short like they did in losing three of four this season.
3Daily Winners Pick- Pittsburgh (-435) in six over Montreal (+365)
(6) Boston vs (7) Philadelphia
The Bruins secured a playoff berth on the second to last day of the season and now have home ice advantage in the Eastern semi-finals vs. Philadelphia club that needed to win last regular season contest just to be invited to the postseason. Go figure, it must be the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This series is expected to be very physical and reminiscent of the 1970’s when the Big Bad Bruins battled the Broad Street Bullies.
Philadelphia had New Jersey’s number all season and got into the Devils’ heads and exploited even their smallest weakness. The Flyers will have fewer dependable scoring options without Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne, both out for the series because of foot injuries, which leaves youngsters Claude Giroux James van Riemsdyk and Ville Leino to pick up the scoring slack. The Flyers still have offensive firepower with Michael Richards (eight points) and Daniel Briere, both very sharp at present.
The strength of the Philly is the blue-liners with the always reliable Chris Pronger and Matt Carle matched together along with Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn, giving the Flyers the best group of defensemen still left in the East. Goalie Brian Boucher turned back the clock and has remarkable .940 save percentage and 1.59 GAA; however it is safe to assume if Philadelphia takes the six-plus penalties per contest they had against the Devils, there will be hell to pay after conceding only four goals. The Flyers enter round two on 7-2 run.
Boston doesn’t have a lot of offensive weapons, which is why coach Claude Julien took his chances and turned the Bruins into physical, tough-minded defensive team, leaning on goaltending as the last line of defense. Though the Bruins didn’t lead until the later stages of the games they won over Buffalo, they manhandled the Sabres and wore them down. Zdeno Chara was tougher than day old pork chop and has taught the cub Bruins how to take the body and clear the puck out of their zone when pressured.
Rookie netminder Tuukka Rask held up well in permitting 14 goals in his first six playoff games but will have to deal with the always annoying (if he’s not on your team) Daniel Carcillo, who is known for creating mayhem.
Boston outscored Buffalo by one goal in their series and won the special teams battle 6-0 for the difference. The Bruins power play could be further enhanced with the return of their best center Marc Savard, who probably earns most of his playing time in man-advantage situations and rebuilds his strength taking intermittent shifts. Boston starts series with 38-16 mark having won three of four.
Miroslav Satan had a reputation as soft player, which is how Boston was able to sign him at midseason with all their injuries; however he had two game-winning goals and three assists in last series. David Krejci has been one of the Bruins best players the last six weeks, yet he will need help against the bigger Flyers and Marco Sturm has to do more than just take his shift, he has to produce points.
For fans that love hitting, this series is a true delight. These teams divided four games, with Boston taking the last two. Home ice means zilch when these two collide, with the visitor 14-5 in last 19 matchups. I’ll use the slightest of leans with Philadelphia being more skilled offensively and as good defensively. Leave open to change my mind after seeing how goalies perform in series opener and take adjusted series odds if necessary.
3DW Pick- Philadelphia (+130) in seven over Boston (-150)
After a 0-8 start to 2010, the Astros finally got off the launching pad and won eight of their next 10 to have a respectable record for April. Unfortunately the next opponent after the hot stretch was Cincinnati, their kryptonite when they start to play like Superman.
Posts
