For me, the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is the most exciting. You can watch multiple playoff hockey games every day, the novelty factor of playoff hockey is still going strong, you’re constantly getting updates on the latest goals from other games, and if your favorite team made the playoffs then they haven’t been eliminated yet.
Believe it or not, the Stanley Cup could be awarded as late as the first week of June so playoff hockey is here to stay for possibly a month and a half. Even as a hockey fan, I’d argue that that’s too long. But maybe that’s why they say the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports.
With the playoffs having just started Wednesday, some predictions and analysis are in order.
Two Original Six teams and historically bitter rivals meet again in the first round for the second year in a row. Last year Montreal was the top seed in the East and Boston snuck in the back door as the eight seed. Montreal won that series in seven.
This year the tables are turned and it is the Bruins who are the heavy favorites to move on. What a fantastic job former Canadiens coach Claude Julien did with the B’s this year—a job deserving the coach of the year award.
Tim Thomas’s unorthodox goaltending style led the Bruins to the best defensive record in the league. They were the only team to give up fewer than 200 goals this year.
Boston’s well-balanced attack was second only to Detroit in goals scored and features six 20-goal scorers. And, being the “Big Bad Bruins,” they dominate with tough, physical, and aggressive play.
So does Montreal stand a chance? Not really. The Habs can hope Boston takes stupid penalties like they did last Thursday and hope to punish the B’s with their much-improved power play. A surprising statistic is that Boston is actually the sixth least penalized team in the NHL.
The Habs can hope Carey Price stands on his head or that the Kovalev–Koivu–Tanguay line catches fire again, but I’m not convinced interim coach Bob Gainey has the tools at his disposal to beat Boston in a best of seven series.
Prediction: Boston in five.
The big difference between these two rivals is goaltending. The battle of PA features two teams with talent on offense and so-so defenses. But Pittsburgh has 2003’s first overall draft pick Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes while Philly doesn’t have a real blue-chip goalie.
Another big difference is experience. Let’s not forget the Penguins made it to the Stanley Cup final against Detroit last year, handling Philly along the way.
While Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are the obvious keys for the Flyers to try and shut down, the task is more difficult for the Penguins as the Flyers have four 30-goal scorers and a respectable sixth-best power play.
The Penguins have become a totally different team since Dan Bylsma took over from Michel Therrien. They have gone 18–3–4 since he took over.
This will be a very tight series as not a lot separates these two teams. Both teams have great leaders in Crosby and Mike Richards. Experience and goaltending favor the Penguins though.
Prediction: Pittsburgh in six.
Believe it or not, the Stanley Cup could be awarded as late as the first week of June so playoff hockey is here to stay for possibly a month and a half. Even as a hockey fan, I’d argue that that’s too long. But maybe that’s why they say the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports.
With the playoffs having just started Wednesday, some predictions and analysis are in order.
Boston Bruins (1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8)
Two Original Six teams and historically bitter rivals meet again in the first round for the second year in a row. Last year Montreal was the top seed in the East and Boston snuck in the back door as the eight seed. Montreal won that series in seven.
This year the tables are turned and it is the Bruins who are the heavy favorites to move on. What a fantastic job former Canadiens coach Claude Julien did with the B’s this year—a job deserving the coach of the year award.
Tim Thomas’s unorthodox goaltending style led the Bruins to the best defensive record in the league. They were the only team to give up fewer than 200 goals this year.
Boston’s well-balanced attack was second only to Detroit in goals scored and features six 20-goal scorers. And, being the “Big Bad Bruins,” they dominate with tough, physical, and aggressive play.
So does Montreal stand a chance? Not really. The Habs can hope Boston takes stupid penalties like they did last Thursday and hope to punish the B’s with their much-improved power play. A surprising statistic is that Boston is actually the sixth least penalized team in the NHL.
The Habs can hope Carey Price stands on his head or that the Kovalev–Koivu–Tanguay line catches fire again, but I’m not convinced interim coach Bob Gainey has the tools at his disposal to beat Boston in a best of seven series.
Prediction: Boston in five.
Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (5)
The big difference between these two rivals is goaltending. The battle of PA features two teams with talent on offense and so-so defenses. But Pittsburgh has 2003’s first overall draft pick Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes while Philly doesn’t have a real blue-chip goalie.
Another big difference is experience. Let’s not forget the Penguins made it to the Stanley Cup final against Detroit last year, handling Philly along the way.
While Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are the obvious keys for the Flyers to try and shut down, the task is more difficult for the Penguins as the Flyers have four 30-goal scorers and a respectable sixth-best power play.
The Penguins have become a totally different team since Dan Bylsma took over from Michel Therrien. They have gone 18–3–4 since he took over.
This will be a very tight series as not a lot separates these two teams. Both teams have great leaders in Crosby and Mike Richards. Experience and goaltending favor the Penguins though.
Prediction: Pittsburgh in six.
