Aaron Powers breaks down the NHL playoffs, beginning in the East.
The lockout-shortened NHL season is now behind us and the playoffs have begun. With this being the last season of the current divisional format before realignment occurs, here’s a look at the top 8 teams from each conference and their first round matchups. We begin in the East.
Eastern Conference
1. Pittsburgh Penguins: Pittsburgh has been one of the best teams in the league, posting a 15-game winning streak between the end of February and the beginning of April. They didn’t lose a game in March and have been strong since, even without the services of captain Sidney Crosby and stars Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. Not only have they been strong, GM Ray Shero picked up some firepower at the trade deadline by snatching Jarome Iginla from Calgary (and away from Boston) and adding Brendan Morrow from Dallas and big d-man Douglas Murray from San Jose. Once Crosby, Malkin, and Neal are healthy, expect this already dangerous team to become even scarier. They have to be the favorite to make the Cup Finals.
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8. New York Islanders: Everyone knows of the 1980-83 dynasty, and the 19 consecutive playoff series wins. With next season the last to be played at the old Nassau Coliseum before moving into the House that Jay-Z Built in Brooklyn, the Islanders are hoping this postseason will be a fond farewell in Uniondale. Not having won a playoff series since the 1992-93 season, the Islanders have pinned their Cup hopes to the backs of young stars such as Kyle Okposo and John Tavares. Tavares has been phenomenal, posting 47 pts (28G/19A) and challenging for the Richard Trophy. It will be interesting to see how aging goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, a player who initially refused to report to the Islanders in 2010, plays in the postseason. Unfortunately, they face the best team in the East, if not the league, in Pittsburgh.
Prediction: The Isles don’t stand much of a chance against the super-charged Pens. New York steals one, but the Penguins win the series in 5.
2. Montreal Canadiens: The Canadiens have been in a neck-and-neck race with the Bruins, seemingly all season, for the Northeast division crown. They faltered a bit going into the last week of the season, but Coach Michel Therrien has shuffled his defensive pairings and cancelled a few days off, holding intense practices and making sure the Habs understand what’s at stake—especially after missing the playoffs last year. They finished strong and claimed the division title on the last day of the regular season. There aren’t many more hockey-proud cities than Montreal, and I’m sure Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge would love to end Canada’s Cup drought. If they can find the balance of offense and defense that propelled them through the regular season, they won’t be easy to beat.
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7. Ottawa Senators: With the best Goals Against ranking in the Eastern Conference, the story of the season for the Sens has been goaltending. When starter Craig Anderson went down with an ankle injury in February, back-ups Robin Lehner and Ben Bishop stepped up and Ottawa found ways to keep winning. With Bishop going to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, it will be up to Anderson and Lehner to carry the Senators past the quarterfinals, where they fell to the Rangers last year. Veteran captain Daniel Alfredsson has spent his entire career in Ottawa, and would surely love to go out on top as Cup champion. Defenseman Erik Karlsson has made a spectacular recovery and will be healthy for the first round. The Senators won’t make it easy on anyone to advance. They’ll push the Canadiens to the limit.
Prediction: It’s too bad one Canadian team has to take care of another in the first round. I see Ottawa’s goaltending pushing this to 7 games, but Montreal ultimately advancing to the 2nd round.
3. Washington Capitals: For a team that started 2-8 in its first 10 games under first-year head coach Adam Oates, the Caps should feel pretty good about winning the Southeast Division. The only problem is that three of the five Southeast teams (Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Florida) sit in the basement of the Eastern Conference. One of the weakest divisions in hockey, the Caps will be the Southeast’s only representative in the playoffs. Alex Ovechkin seems to have found his way in Oates’ system, and racked up 32 goals to win this year’s Maurice Richard trophy. Mike Green has also been outstanding since returning from a groin injury. If they can get great goaltending from Braden Holtby, as they did last year, Washington could make a push for the Conference Finals.
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6. New York Rangers: Pegged by many at the beginning of the season as Cup favorites, the Rangers have been lackluster at times, especially on the road, where they posted a 10-12-2 record (as opposed to 16-6-2 at the Garden). Star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has been as good as ever, posting a .926 save percentage and 2.05 goals against average, and can always be counted on to come up big when it matters most. With a solid defensive core that will hopefully be bolstered by the return of Marc Staal, the Rangers will look to prove the pundits correct, and hopefully improve upon their Eastern Conference Finals loss last season. But against a hot Caps team, that may prove hard to do.
Prediction: Who will win the Ovi vs. Lundqvist matchup? The Caps are playing really well right now, so I see them taking this series in 6.
4. Boston Bruins: The Bruins ended the regular season with a lot of games and even more emotion, dealing with the postponements caused by the bombing of the Boston Marathon and subsequent manhunt for the perpetrators. The heralded penalty kill looked quite shaky going into the last week of the season, allowing multiple PP goals during the final week of play and going 3-5-2 in their last 10. On top of dealing with injuries, the Bs have also had to deal with stretches of low production from stars such as Milan Lucic. Their goaltending is solid with Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin, and their defensive core is perhaps the best in the League. They added some offense with future HOF player Jaromir Jagr and Swedish rookie Carl Soderberg, and If the Bruins can find their “big and bad” form, they’ll go deep in the playoffs. If they continue to falter, as they did in their last few games, the offseason will come quickly once again.
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5. Toronto Maple Leafs: For Toronto fans, simply seeing the Leafs in the playoffs has to come as sweet relief, as their team hasn’t made an appearance since before the last lockout in 2004-05. With rookie Nazem Kadri contributing 44 pts (18G/26A), and goalie James Reimer posting a .924 save percentage, the Leafs have shown they’re a new team in 2013. Former GM Brian Burke deserves quite a bit of credit for building this team, and head coach Randy Carlyle has Cup Finals experience, having won it all with Anaheim in 2007. If the Leafs can keep the goals coming, they’ll make it tough on other teams to send them packing. But they face a tough Boston team with something to prove after a shaky end to their regular season.
Prediction: A great Original Six matchup. Toronto is as fast as Boston is tough. But Boston finds their offense and figures out their penalty kill. They beat the Leafs in 5.
Tomorrow, Aaron breaks down the Western Conference.
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Photo: AP/Gene J. Puskar
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