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| Subject: Playoff Predictions Round 1 | |
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Author: Scott |
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Date Posted: 00:54:36 04/10/07 Tue Author Host/IP: 70.68.68.111 I guess I'll brake the ice here and start what will be replied to by Juan pretty quickly after. Eastern Conference (because starting with the easy ones is fun) (1) Buffalo Sabres vs. (8) New York Islanders The Islanders are already champions in my mind for knocking the Leafs out of the playoffs, but this has to be the one no brainer of the playoffs. If Buffalo with all their scoring talent and a pretty solid goaltender gets knocked out by the Islanders, especially after they were hailed to make the finals by many and Chris Simon and DiPietro are out, it'll be a shocker. Buffalo in 5 (2) New Jersey Devils vs. (7) Tampa Bay Lightning The Devils almost became my most hated team in the NHL the other day, had they beaten the Islanders. But besides that, Tampa Bay has probably the worst goaltending of all the teams in the playoffs, while NJ has probably the best goalie in all of hockey right now. Not too mention NJ is now healthy, and Lou has shaken things up naming himself head coach. The Lightning just aren't as powerful as they were in 2004. New Jersey in 5 (3) Atlanta Thrashers vs. (6) New York Rangers This is a toss up for me. Atlanta has some great forwards, made some good pick-ups down the stretch (as much as I hate Tkachuk, he can probably destroy most of the Eastern players with his size) and they also have a good goalie as well. The Rangers seem like a hot and cold team to me, but they have a few players who know how to get it done (Jagr, Shanahan). Last year, the Rangers were missing Jagr in the playoffs, while the Thrashers were on the golf course once again. New York Rangers in 7 (4) Ottawa Senators vs. (5) Pittsburgh Penguins This should be the best series of the 1st round, pretty much because every game should be 5-4. On one hand, I want to say Crosby is too young, and it's too much pressure for him to carry his team. But on the other hand, he did win the Art Ross this year, and pretty much got the Penguins in the playoffs a lot sooner than expected. Ottawa will play hard because their fans will hang them if they exit in the 1st round or play as poorly as last year. The difference won't be Crosby, he'll play good for sure. The difference will be if Spezza, Heatley and Alfreddson can play at their best or not. Ottawa in 7 Western Conference (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Calgary Flames If there is one team that can ruin the advantage to being the top seed in a conference, it's Detroit. Just ask them what they think of Anahiem, Edmonton and Calgary from the past few playoffs. I don't have faith in Hasek as a clutch goalie anymore, and players like Datsyuk go cold in the playoffs. Calgary finished the year looking worse than Juan's mom after a Mexican gang-bang party, losing 4 straight and a Colorado win over Nashville away from being knocked out. Calgary though will step it up, and I do think an "upset" will happen, not that anything in the West would be an upset this year as any series can go either way. Calgary in 6 (2) Anahiem Ducks vs. (7) Minnesota Wild God I hate both these teams. Minnesota will come out hard, and playing in Minnesota will be a challenge for the Ducks. This is where the Ducks need to take advantage of home ice, as I don't see Minnesota losing at home. But with players like Pronger, Neidermayer and a youthful looking Selanne playing their best hockey, that shouldn't be a problem. Anahiem in 7 (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Dallas Stars One interesting tidbit from this series, the only two players still on either team from when they last played in the playoffs are Trevor Linden and Mike Modanno (1994). This will be a defensive series, as all 4 games this year were 2-1 going to the home teams. The real question though will be Marty Turco. A lot of weight is on his shoulders this year, and he needs to step up. The Canucks need to throw their weight, so it'll be important that players like Cooke and Beiska hit a lot but don't draw dumb penalties. Even though the Canucks had the #1 PK in the league, they need to lower their penalties taken, as the PP may decide this series. Vancouver in 6 (4) Nashville Predators vs. (5) San Jose Sharks I'm glad I watched the San Jose/Vancouver game this weekend. If San Jose plays as hard as they did against the Canucks on Saturday, and have Joe Thornton dishing out brutal hits, Nashville will probably wave a white flag by game 3. Nashville to me just doesn't look like a team that can go anywhere, as Forsberg doesn't seem like the answer to win the Stanley Cup, or even make a dent towards it. San Jose has more to prove after last seasons playoffs went horribly wrong against Edmonton. San Jose in 5 [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Re: Playoff Predictions Round 1 | Chris L. | 11:26:44 04/10/07 Tue |
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| Re: Playoff Predictions Round 1 | Jason | 15:58:48 04/11/07 Wed |
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