The Milton Sports Guy: 2008 NHL Playoffs, Round One Preview
Can the Southeast Division Champion Washington Capitals continue their torrid pace led by the dynamic Alexander Ovechkin?
Well, here it is: Wednesday is opening night of the Stanley Cup playoffs 2008 edition, featuring some juicy matchups in what is arguably the best round of playoffs in any sport.
And what a wrap-up to the season we just witnessed, with many of the playoff races going right down to the wire. Alexander Ovechkin led the Capitals’ unreal 2nd half surge to the Southeast Division title, leapfrogging a bunch of “better” clubs into the #3 seed (in a related note, how has Carolina missed the playoffs now for two straight seasons after copping the cup in ‘05? Strange.)
On the other hand, the Senators dropped like a stone from the #1 seed in the East most of the year to barely scraping into the postseason.
The Sharks are the hottest team going into the playoffs, but many questions surround the club yet again - do they have what it takes to finally reach their potential and win the West led by Joe Thornton?
The Wings are the President’s Trophy winners yet again, but do they have the toughness to grind it out with Nashville first, then teams like the Ducks, Sharks or Flames?
Get set for the best two weeks if you’re a hockey fan, so ladies, find a good reality TV show like The Bachelor or America’s Next Top Model and leave us guys alone. You can find us surgically attached to our favourite couch/armchair with adult beverage in hand for the next few weeks…. Until our favourite team/playoff hockey pool loses out anyway….
Now onto the predictions:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(1) Montreal vs. (8) Boston
These two teams always seem to find each other during the final days of playoff positioning, don’t they? Kinda like the Leafs/Sens a few years ago. This should be a barn-burner, although you have to think the Habs should handle the Bruins handily. They simply have more offensive weapons to counteract the Bruins’ trapping system and Carey Price is playing out of his mind right now after Gainey’s shrude move at the deadline, trading away Huet to the Capitals. Um, oh yeah, did anyone notice Montreal is 8-0 vs. the Bruins this year?
Canadiens over Bruins 4-1
(2) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa
I have a weird hunch that Ottawa is going to put up a better fight than most think. I know, I know, a few of their better players are out, the team has been horrible down the stretch and there’s internal strife and a goaltending controversy….. But, they’ve been there before - they’re playoff tested. Pittsburgh is still very inexperienced despite their solid season and promise for the future. That said, I can’t see Ottawa winning this one, but I see a competitive six-game series with some OT thrown into the equation.
Penguins over Senators 4-2
(3) Capitals vs. (6) Flyers
This old Patrick Division battle should be a goodie. The Caps’ new/old logo and red/blue colour scheme harkens back to the series’ these two played in the late 80’s - you know: Pete Peeters/Dale Hunter v Ron Hextall/Tim Kerr et cetera…. This is a tough one to call. The Flyers struggled a bit in the 2nd half, dropping from near the top of the East to barely scraping into the postseason, while the Capitals’ run to the finish has been well-documented. Here’s the thing though: how much does Washington have left in the tank? Teams on these crazy streaks always seem to run out of gas - they’re guaranteed 4 games now - they don’t HAVE to win every one. They’re also short on playoff experience. The Flyers have some experienced guys, plus you have to like young guys like Richards and Carter who play a smarter playoff-brand of hockey. I think they’ll grind down the Capitals who may just be happy to have made a playoff appearance this year. Also, I think the Flyers’ strategy is pretty simple: shut down one guy, #8.
Flyers over Capitals 4-2
(4) New Jersey vs. (5) New York Rangers
Another Patrick Division clash which brings back memories of the 1994 Eastern Conference Final. This should be a tight, nasty series. A year or two ago, and I would give the Rangers no chance with a roster full of fancy, schmancy Czech players. Shanahan and Avery give this team a little bit of grit and experience which should serve them well against the Devils, but hey, New Jersey is New Jersey. Lou Lamoriello has been able to re-shape this club while barely missing a beat. How? It all starts in net. You can’t go against Martin Brodeur. Yet.
Devils over Rangers 4-3
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(1) Detroit vs. (8) Nashville
As I mentioned earlier, the big question is: can Detroit handle the grittier, tougher teams in the playoffs? They’ve been ousted by tough, hard-skating teams in the last three seasons in Calgary, Edmonton and Anaheim. Can Nashville knock them off? The short answer is: no. I don’t see this Red Wing club going all the way - they’re old at a few key positions and I don’t think Datsyuk and Zetterberg, despite great regular season numbers, have what it takes to lead them to the promised land. They should beat Nashville rather easily however, before they are really tested.
Red Wings over Predators 4-2
(2) San Jose vs. (7) Calgary
Here we go again. Everyone’s perennial Stanley Cup dark horse is the Sharks again this year, and they’re also everyone’s biggest question mark again this year…. Will they finally live up to their potential? I think the answer is yes - this is the team and this is the year they could emerge from the West. One little problem: the Flames are a reeeeeally bad matchup for them, especially in round one. Calgary plays San Jose tough, winning the season series 3-1. If Kiprusoff can get hot, and the team can quickly come together and reach its potential behind the leadership of Iginla on the ice and Keenan off it, then look for an upset here. Actually, I think I just talked myself into picking the Flames, but I have to go back and pick the team I think will win the West this year…. This series will be worth the late start times, though and promises to be a long, hard battle. If San Jose does hope to advance past the 2nd round, they need to stay injury-free which may be hard to do for the winner of this grudge match.
Sharks over Flames 4-3
(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Colorado
I honestly don’t see or know too much about these clubs. I think this should be a very even series however, going to seven games with the Wild coming out on top thanks to a little more toughness, attention to detail defensively, goaltending and just enough scoring punch. Can the Avs seriously go with Theodore in net and hope to win a series??
Wild over Avalanche 4-3
(4) Anaheim vs. (5) Dallas
Calgary/San Jose: worth staying up late; Anaheim/Dallas: catch the highlights and get some sleep. If you like 1-0, 2-1 games with shot totals at 15-12 and the like, this is the series for you…. Granted, there should be some tough physical play, but this one has multiple OT’s written all over it. The Stars inexplicably have had a nice season, but it comes to an end here - the Ducks are the defending champs and don’t let their #4 seed fool you. I fully expect they will be playing in the Conference Final yet again.
Ducks over Stars 4-2
Okay, there you have it. Take these picks to the bank and here’s to a magnificent, channel-surfer’s dream round one of the NHL playoffs (remember to avoid carpal tunnel by stretching during commercial breaks).
Now, what do you think, Milton?
April 8th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Hey buddy!! I’m amazed that I actually agree with you for most,
Here goes:
Montreal in 5. Boston is just too banged up and I don’t think the return of Bergeron (late in 1st round) and Savard will be enough.
Pittsburgh in 6. Ottawa will win a couple of close ones, but look for some sort of goaltending controversy. I see Gerber getting shelled in games 1 and 2 and Ottawa starting Emery in Game 3. Should be fun watching this train wreck in Ottawa. No Alfie and Fisher means the end to Ottawa. I still don’t like the deadline trade to bring in Stillman. They miss Corvo.
Rangers over Devils in 6. I’m actually predicting a Ranger-Shark final. I dunno, something about the Rangers underachieving for most of the year and guys like Drury, Gomez and Jagr getting hot at the right time. Lundqvist has been amazing all year and you just can’t bet against Shanny. Elias and Gionta have been invisible all year and I just don’t see Parise ready this year to carry the load. Brodeur is Brodeur, but since the softies in the Tampa series last year, I’ve noticed more bad angle and soft goals coming this year as he ages.
Washington over Philly in 7. Mostly just to go against Blue and T-Bone, but there is something magical about the Caps this year. What impressed my down the final 4 games is the guys like Bruce Laich putting in some big goals. Washington was scoring 4 goals a night, but only one by Ovechkin. I think his supporting cast might be a bit better than others give credit for and simply shutting Ovey down might not be enough. Look for the meathead Phlyers to rack up the penalty minutes and Green putting in a ton of Power play goals from the point.
Detroit over Nashville in 5. I’ll allow Nashville to pull out an O/T win at home, but basically be outclassed all series. Look for Tootoo to get 2 or 3 dumb penalties a game, followed by Lidstrom to Zetterberg to Datsyuk tic-tac-toe goals.
San Jose over Calgary in 6. I really like Calgary, but Thornton and Nabokov seem like they’re on a mission this year. Cheechoo and Marleau have been terrible all year, but Marleau is very hot of late and San Jose had a string of 21 straight games without a regulation loss despite the aforementioned being so terrible. This should be the best series of the first round, but I just don’t see Tanguay, Langkow, a hurt Conroy and wonkey knee Nolan enough to support Iginla.
Anaheim over Dallas in 6. Yes, I agree with the low scoring snore-fest prediction, but should be some good hitting in this one. Anaheim just too good on the blueline for Dallas. I’ll enjoy seeing Pronger and Getzlaf dole out the punishment to Ribiero.
Finally, Colorado over Minnesota in 6. Minnesota is a good team, but despite a great goalie in Backstrom, I just don’t see the supporting cast behind Gaborik. Bouchard, Demitra, Rolston? I just don’t buy it yet. Sure Colorado is old, but even if the Sakic, Forsberg, Hejduk line falters, they can still come back with Stastny, Wolski, Brunette and I also think Smyth is due after being so terrible the past month. Theodore has actually been quite solid this year.
Bank it!!!!
Capper
April 9th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Here’s what’s going to happen:
East:
Montreal in 6
Pittsburgh in 6 (and on their way to the Cup)
Washington in 5
New Jersey in 7
West:
Detroit in 5
San Jose in 6
Colorado in 7
Anaheim in 7