One of the most stressful times in my life (and most exciting for the matter) is finally here, the NHL Playoffs. The season leading up to this point certainly didn’t disappoint, especially the final month where we saw playoff races go down to the final day in the West.
So let’s just get right into it. Here are my predictions for this year’s NHL playoffs.
Eastern Conference
#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 New York Rangers
This series won’t be your regular #1 vs. #8 playoff series where the #1 is undoubtedly favored to win. To be fair though if Mike Green is ready to go for the Capitals then they are for sure the favorites in this series. However, I am in no way sold on the duo of goaltenders the Capitals have going into the playoffs starting Michal Neuvirth and having Semyon Varlamov backing him up. With team scoring also down for the Capitals there are plenty of questions surrounding them that I believe will hurt them later on down road.
There are plenty of questions surrounding the Rangers as well.
For instance, will they be able to score goals with Ryan Callahan out? Can Marian Gaborik turn it up for the blues shirts when it matters most? Can Henrik Lundqvist stand on his head and steal this series for the Rangers?
In the end, Washington’s overall talent gets the best of the Rangers.
Adam’s Pick: Capitals in Six
#2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #7 Buffalo Sabres
Even though he is getting up there in age, Chris Pronger is extremely vital to the success of the Philadelphia Flyers and right now it all seems that he is going to be out of the lineup. With that said I can’t trust the goaltending and overall defense of the Flyers.
What the Flyers have going for them is they are extremely deep up front which may end up being the trump card in this series.
However, the Sabres have a trump card of their own and that is goaltender Ryan Miller.
Facing a rookie goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky, no Chris Pronger and having a goaltender that can win any game against the Flyers by himself, Buffalo pulls the upset and sends the defending Eastern Conference champions home packing.
Adam’s Pick: Sabres in Seven
#3 Boston Bruins vs. #6 Montreal Canadiens
In this series we can see a lot of blood shed. Zdeno Chara will make his return to the Bell Centre in Montreal where he severely injured Montreal’s Max Pacioretty after a vicious but legal check into the boards.
As far as the rest of the series goes, Montreal’s Carey Price has proven that he can get his team to the playoffs, however he will need to prove that he can be a playoff caliber goaltender. This is especially the case since Montreal isn’t a very deep team all around and in order for Montreal to advance Price will have to stand on his head.
Even though the Bruins aren’t terribly intimidating up front they are much more of a balanced team.
Adam’s Pick: Boston in Six
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Tampa Bay Lightning
I’m not convinced that Sidney Crosby will be ready to return to the Penguins lineup and when he is ready it may be too late.
With Crosby and Malkin out, Pittsburgh is in some serious need of offense. They are going to have to count on their recent trade acquisitions of Alex Kovalev and James Neal. Kovalev who have only combined for 3 goals in 39 games since arriving in Pittsburgh.
Tampa Bay on the other plenty of firepower up front in Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Simone Gagne and Steven Stamkos.
Despite the Lightning’s shortcomings on defense I believe Pittsburgh’s lack of fire power will end up being their undoing.
Adam’s Pick: Lightning in Six
Western Conference
#1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #8 Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks managed to get lucky and back their way into the playoffs this year. The Cancucks on the other hand have been playing a lot of meaningless games the past month which one would think could hinder their play in the first round.
Out of any team in the playoffs this year, Vancouver may need to win the Cup the most. They have arguably the best goaltender in the NHL in Roberto Luongo, the best one-two punch in the Sedin Twins and a defensive group that is very capable of giving Luongo more than enough support.
The Blackhawks aren’t quite the team they use to be last season when they won the cup. They became victims of the salary cap and are now going to have to depend on rookie goaltender Corey Crawford to outplay Luongo.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe Luongo is one of the most if not thee most overrated player in the NHL BUT Vancouver is a hungry team this year and there is no way they get knocked out by the Blackhawks for a second straight year.
Adam’s Pick: Canucks in Six
#2 San Jose Sharks vs. #7 Los Angeles Kings
If you couldn’t already tell I’m putting a lot of stock into goaltending for this year’s playoffs.
That’s what really has me second guessing this series.
Antti Niemi has been very good for the Sharks this season, especially after having to step in for Evgeni Nabokov. However Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick has been every big as good as Niemi.
In the end, San Jose simply has more experience and too many weapons for the Kings to overcome.
Adam’s Pick: Sharks in Five
#3 Detroit Red Wings vs. #6 Phoenix Coyotes
According to Tyson Nash the Red Wings are scared of the Coyotes.
This certainly isn’t the case.
Out of every team in the playoffs this year, the Red Wings without a doubt have the most experience which will be a huge benefit for them.
Sure the absence of Zetterberg will hurt the Wings however another benefit that the Wings will enjoy is their tremendous depth, especially on offense. Even with Shane Doan being a more prominent presence in this year’s first round the Coyotes really don’t have any other scoring threats. The only area in which the Coyotes could have an advantage over the Wings is in-goal. Ilya Bryzgalov can outplay Jimmy Howard however Bryzgalov will need to win this series by himself.
Adam’s Pick: Wings in Six
#5 Anaheim Ducks vs. #6 Nashville Predators
This series will definitely be offense vs. defense.
Anaheim has possibly the best line in Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan while Nashville has one of the best defensive duo’s in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Not to mention Nashville has on of the best young goaltenders in the league Pekka Rinne.
Anaheim has nothing but question marks in net and I’m going to go by that old cliche in this series that defense always trumps offense.
Adam’s Pick: Predators in Seven
The Next Rounds
Eastern Conference
#1 Washington Capitals vs. #7 Buffalo Sabres – Sabres in Seven
#3 Boston Bruins vs. #5 Tampa Bay Lightning – Bruins in Six
#3 Boston Bruins vs. #7 Buffalo Sabres – Bruins in Six
Western Conference
#1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #5 Nashville Predators – Canucks in Five
#2 San Jose Sharks vs. #3 Detroit Red Wings – Red Wings in Seven
#1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #3 Detroit Red Wings – Red Wings in Seven
Stanley Cup Finals
#3 Boston Bruins vs. #3 Detroit Red Wings – Red Wings in Six
