By Andrew Chong, Editor with Danny Beck /
Fourteen teams are golfing. Fifteen more will be knocked out between now and June. One team is going to win 16 games and have a very happy summer.
Hockey Now’s resident genie-in-a-bottle Danny Beck and I share our prophetic (or pathetic) playoff predictions:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Washington (1) vs. Montreal (8)
AC: It didn’t seem like Alex Ovechkin was very torn-up about losing the Art Ross and the Rocket Richard. The void in his trophy case is a Stanley Cup and that’s all he cares about. Sid made his Cup run at Ovy’s expense, last year. Ovy will be hungrier than ever, this year. And his team is pretty good, too. Put it this way, Alex Semin scored 40 goals in 73 games and is probably only the fourth most valuable player on his team (1. Ovechkin, 2. Backstrom, 3. Green).
DB: Even though Plekanec popped off and said they have the goaltending advantage (which is true), the Canadiens are doomed. They need way more size and checking ability to shut down the Caps and they certainly can’t go end to end with them.
New Jersey (2) vs. Philadelphia (7)
AC: Philly has been in playoff mode for a while now and Marty Brodeur showed weakness in both the 2009 Playoffs and the Olympics. Mike Richards will shine when it matters as he did at the Vancouver Games and lead the Flyers to a significant first-round upset.
DB: Philly cruises easy. New Jersey doesn’t have it.
Buffalo (3) vs. Boston (6)
AC: The Bruins have the second worst offence in the NHL and Ryan Miller plays goal for the Buffalo Sabres. You do the math.
DB: BORING. I mean, come on; I love hockey, but this will be a snooze fest. Buffalo should have no problem.
Pittsburgh (4) vs. Ottawa (5)
AC: A review of these teams’ last two playoff runs finds Ottawa being swept and missing the playoffs while the Pens made two Stanley Cup finals and won a Cup. And Sidney Crosby has since added “50-goal-scorer” and “Olympic hero” to his resume. Is he actually getting better? Unfortunately for the Sens, yes.
DB: Ottawa upsets the defending champs in 7. I think Pittsburgh is ready for a playoff failure and Ottawa has been super quiet all year. Anybody even read a headline about them all year? They became a Team this year – quite different from the Daigle to Yashin to Redden to Chara to Emery to Heatley years, eh?
WESTERN CONFERENCE
San Jose (1) vs. Colorado (8)
AC: Fear is the great motivator for the Sharks. Could you imagine the house-cleaning if they get knocked out early, again? Another first place regular season means nothing. Getting through the first two rounds means everything. Dany Heatley has been to a Cup final and is over a point-per-game in his career in the playoffs. He was brought in because Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are well-below a point-per-game in the playoffs. Fear will propel the Sharks to Round 2.
DB: When will SJ enter the playoffs and not underwhelm us? I just can’t see Colorado beating them, but with the Sharks, anything is possible. Colorado has stumbled in and San Jose clutched up at the end for the Presidents’. I say the Sharks go through, but I wouldn’t bet even a U.S. dollar on it.
Chicago (2) vs. Nashville (7)
AC: Antti Niemi just needs to be good enough and his Blackhawks will beat the Predators. The Hawks’ defensive play has been shaky in recent weeks but their team-offence is just too good to be denied in the first round: Kane, Keith, Toews, Hossa, Sharp, Versteeg, Brouwer, Ladd. Scary.
DB: Here is a potential upset. Everyone including the Holy Trinity are predicting the Hawks, but Nashville has better goaltending, a better coach, zero pressure and equally good D. Nashville bounces the Hawks.
Vancouver (3) vs. Los Angeles (6)
AC: The Canucks are armed with an Art Ross champ, the league’s second most potent offence, and a goalie capable of being golden. On the other hand, Vancouver’s D is banged-up, and so too may be Roberto Luongo’s psyche. The Canucks should have enough, but the Kings’ far superior road record could make things very interesting.
DB: ...Getting to the playoffs is the Kings’ success this year. Both teams have very iffy goaltending – can you believe that the Canucks hitched another 11 years to Luongo – yikes. Still, even though L.A. has the sexy players, Vancouver is deeper and should prevail. Plus no one in the East will care because finally, finally, finally we get a series that does not start at 4:00 p.m. PST. All the East will miss what is likely to be the best first round series in the West.
Phoenix (4) vs. Detroit (5)
AC: Detroit is 17-4-1 since mid-Feb. Goodbye, Phoenix.
DB: Detroit sweep. |
