2nd Round Impressions and Conference Finals Predictions

Raise your hand if you think this is the best hockey you ever seen? Outside of International hockey which tends to always be this good, I can’t recall a playoff year being so full of exciting end-to-end hockey. For years we were used to guys “water skiing”, chipping their way through the playoffs with stifling defense and sluggish flow.

Not this year. And it’s not likely to start any time soon.

 
Thoughts on the Second Round

Boston vs Carolina 

The Hurricanes have made me, and I suspect most of us look silly twice now. I don’t know if many predicted them to beat the Devils (though I did), and I think even fewer predicted them to beat the Bruins (I did not). I don’t know what it is about this team, but it sure feels like they’re a team of destiny, doesn’t it? How can you not like this team? From Paul Maurice and Ron Francis , to Eric Staal and Cam Ward , what’s not to like? I guess if you’re a Bruins fan, you don’t like Scott Walker very much now…the guy who kayoed Aaron Ward , and then kayoed the Bruins entirely . I thought the Bruins played well enough to win game 7, but they slipped in games 3 and 4, which cost them dearly. The Bruins have never overcome a 3-1 series deficit, and that history will continue for at least 1 more year. I feel bad for Tim Thomas, Claude Julien , and Aaron Ward, but the Bruins had a great year and should be back next year to challenge again. The questions will begin to circle around Tim Thomas now, especially now that he has a fat long-term deal. He’s now 0-2 in playoff game sevens and he’ll be dogged by that until he wins one.

Pittsburgh vs Washington 

What can you say about this series that hasn’t been said already? A series featuring several of the games brightest stars, highlighted by Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin . This series was hyped as a showdown between these 2 stars as if they were the only ones playing, and for long stretches, it seemed like they were the only 2 doing anything. Crosby had 13 points in the series while Ovechkin had 14. But in the end, Crosby was there in game 7 while Ovechkin seemed to fade after being robbed by Marc-André Fleury early in the first period. That save was the turning point of the game. It looked like this series was going to be a quick one after Washington took a 2-0 series lead, but the Penguins battled back on home ice and won 4 of the next 5 games, which many thought would be next to impossible. Again, the old adage of “you’re never in trouble until you lose on home ice” proves true. As for the Crosby/Ovechkin feud, I think it’s time to say that Crosby gets the edge. Sure Ovechkin has the flair and the personality – no debate there. But at 21, Crosby has already been to the Cup finals and is 1 series away from doing it again. He brought it and delivered big time in game 7 when it mattered most, and without a doubt understands the team game and how to use his teammates better than Ovechkin does. The poignant image in this series for me is when Crosby stole the puck from Ovechkin, streaked down the ice and beat Jose Theodore to seal the series. If that was not the series in a nutshell, what is?

Detroit vs Anaheim 

This series seemed to be littered with blown calls, missed calls, weird brawls involving lightweights, stars and mismatches and of course, controversy. In the end I believe everything balanced out and the better team won, though it took longer than it ought to have taken. If not for the heroics of Jonas Hiller , this series is over in 5. Even with Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom sound asleep this playoff year, the Wings are still getting consistent scoring from “the Mule” Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, Nik Lidstrom, Marian Hossa and Jiri Hudler . Anaheim seemed only to be able to go as far as Hiller and Getzlaf could take them. Niedermayer and Pronger are not the players they used to be, nor is Teemu Selanne . It may be time for a changing of the guard in Anaheim, as many of their key veterans are unrestricted free agents.

 
Vancouver vs Chicago 

Who says young teams can’t win this deep in to the year? The Blackhawks are the youngest team in the league and are impressively showing everyone that you can’t lose if you don’t know what losing is. Call them the Canada killers, but they’ve knocked out the 2 Canadian representatives in the Western Conference in impressive fashion. They rattled and eventually shredded Miikka Kiprusoff , and did the same to Roberto Luongo . Speaking of Luongo, what a bad time for the team captain to play his worst hockey of the year. For a guy that everyone expects to be named Canada’s #1 goaltender at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, he sure didn’t play like he can handle the pressure (In fact, neither did Brodeur , which begs the question – is Cam Ward the best Canadian goaltender in the game right now? One thing is for sure today, if Luongo is named Team Canada’s #1 guy, it will be in large part due to the politics of having the home town guy between the pipes. Hopefully Team Canada General Manager Steve Yzerman and the coaching staff can see through this and make the correct call. It may end up being Luongo come next year, but right now it’s not.).

I wonder how the Canucks feel today about bringing in Mats Sundin , as he did not quite live up to expectations, despite respectable playoff stats. It’s evident that skipping training camp hurt him, and father time is catching up. Will he be back next season? Will the Canucks want him back? If the Sedins leave, they may be forced to bring him back just to keep them competitive. The rest of the Canucks seemed not to be able to raise their game in the playoffs. Steve Bernier, Ryan Kesler and Pavol Demitra were not able to match the skill and production of the Hawks. Going back to the Hawks, there’s no shortage of extremely talented kids that can flat out get the job done. From Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, to Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg and Martin Havlat , the scoring is there in spades. And with role players like Burish, Byfuglien, Bolland, Ladd, and Sammy Pahlsson, the sandpaper and intangibles are there too. The defense is able, and more importantly, willing to take abuse and give it out. Joel Quenneville is to be commended for what he’s done with this collection of youngsters. It’s clear that the firing of Denis Savard so early in the year was the right move, after it left so many shaking their heads.

Predictions for the Conference Finals

Carolina (6) vs Pittsburgh (4)

I don’t want to make the mistake of disrespecting Carolina again, since they seem to be proving just about everyone wrong, but I have a tough time making a case for them to beat the Penguins. I can easily say that fortune is smiling on the Canes and that will somehow carry them through the series, but I’m not going to do that. I think that the Penguins have the 2 best, or at least 2 of the 3 players in the league. And in Crosby’s case, he looks as though he’s just warming up. The Canes don’t have the defense to contain all of the Penguins up front talent…do they? Paul Maurice will have to roll lines because he won’t win many matchup battles. On the other hand do the Penguins have the necessary defensemen to lock up Eric Staal? Does it matter? Staal asserted himself quite well against Norris candidate Zdeno Chara , so maybe it doesn’t matter who the Penguins run out there. On the Penguins front, Sergei Gonchar came back for game 7, and had a positive contribution in the outcome. Will his knee be able to last for whatever amount of hockey is left in their season? I expected this to be another fast-paced series, with the Penguins talent being the difference. Though I will NOT be surprised to see the Canes advance. After all, Cam Ward STILL has never lost a playoff series (6-0), including a sparkling 4-0 record in 7th games. If that’s not clutch, I don’t know what is. Even after being seemingly rattled after the Bruins dominated games 5 and 6, he came back with a stellar effort in game 7. I don’t want to keep betting against this guy, but I also don’t want to bet against Sidney Crosby on a mission. The Canes are certainly battle tested, with both series this year going down to the wire in 7 games (to the last minute vs the Devils and OT vs the Bruins). That’s invaluable experience, but begs the question – how much do they have left in the tank. This is a team that will heavily rely on Staal to carry the mail offensively, as they have in both series to this point. Can he do it again? Maybe, but not quite enough.

Pittsburgh in 6 (though if it gets to a 7th game, I can’t help but think the Canes will win).

Chicago (4) vs Detroit (2)

Let’s hope that this original six matchup provides better entertainment than the Canadiens / Bruins series, which was as anticlimactic as it gets. In this matchup, we have division rivals, original six rivals, defending champs & league’s oldest team (Detroit) against the upstart, youngest team in the league with their sights set on the prize (Chicago).

This series has major potential for fireworks and drama, the same way the Penguins / Capitals series gave it to us. I think a lot of people are waiting for the air to slip out of the Blackhawks balloon, but so far it has not happened. People thought that the rougher, bigger defense of the Flames and Canucks would punish and smother the smallish, inexperienced Hawks forwards. But the Hawks have proven that they are more than up to the challenge. They’ve fought back and dished out as much as they took. On the flip side, the Red Wings do not play a bruising type of hockey. They play smart, they move the puck and they are disciplined. They are led by guys with multiple cup rings, guys who have been here many times and know precisely what it takes to get the job done. How much more can Quenneville get out of his troops? For Detroit, Mike Babcock also has a tremendous amount of experience at this time of year and can handle anything. So far he’s beaten a Columbus team that rode an extremely hot Steve Mason in to the playoffs, he’s beaten an Anaheim team that wanted to grind the Wings to a halt, and now they’re playing a Hawks team that will try to skate and finesse them in to the ice.

It’s time to throw the inexperience argument out the window. The Hawks don’t care. Whether they are right in thinking this remains to be seen. I’m calling the talent on both sides as a draw. In my mind this series will boil down to Osgood vs Khabibulin and how well their defensemen can contain the skill. I think now is the time we will see Datsyuk and Holmstrom wake up and make their contribution. Notice has been served however, that the Chicago Blackhawks are for real, and they’re going to challenge Detroit for the division title starting from game 1 next season. But for now, the champs will continue their march towards a rare Stanley Cup repeat.

Detroit in 6.

I believe we are looking at a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals, which should be even better this year. The Penguins are a better team, and the Wings…well, when aren’t they great?

As an interesting side note, 3 of the 4 coaches still standing were hired DURING the season after the previous coach had been fired (Therrien, Laviolette, Savard). As a copycat league, where teams try to mimic the Stanley Cup champ, I wonder if we will see a rash of firings next season as teams try to capture lightning in a bottle?

Please leave your thoughts and predictions below!