Stanley Cup Playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals

A sharp glance at the finalists in the Eastern Conference and you are likely to catch a few raised brows from NHL experts to casual fans.  The Washington Capitals seemed poised for a deep run in the playoffs.  We knew the Flyers had goaltender issues, but a red-hot offense had masked that flaw in the previous series against the Sabres. However, little did we know that two veteran goaltenders, Tim Thomas and Dwayne Roloson, would dominant the series' like they did.  To recap, I had taken Boston in 6 and Washington in 6.  Boston would instead sweep the Flyers and the Lightning quickly removed of the Capitals with a sweep of their own. 

Therefore, it's the Tampa Bay Lightning versus the Boston Bruins for the chance to win Lord Stanley's Cup.  In an effort to freshen up the experience I'll give a brief scouting report on the offense, defense, and goalies of the respective teams and who I think has the advantage.


Offense

The Lightning offense is quick to strike.

The Tampa Bay Lightning unquestionably carry the more recognizable weapons in this category.  Stamkos has picked his game up, Marty St. Louis leads the East in points, and Sean Bergenheim has been on a torrid pace putting him in a tie for goals thus far in postseason play.  Not to mention a stable that houses Vinny Lecavalier, Steve Downie, and Simon Gagne who is returning from an injury.  The Bruins on the other hand, rely on contributions from a supporting cast that consists mostly of young talent.  They will be without Patrice Bergeron which could spell trouble for the B's in this series. The burden will then be placed on the shoulders Brad Marchand, Nathan Horton, and David Krejci.  With the goaltender play on each team, goals could be at a premium. Time to see if the young guns on Boston can get timely goals or the Lightning simply overpower the Bruins with that explosive core.

Advantage: Tampa Bay Lightning

Can Chara's phyiscal play keep Tampa at bay?

Defense
The Bruins have a blue line group that is anchored by big man Zdeno Chara. He is supported by Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference, and Johnny Boychuk. They are a big, physical group that loves to stand in front of their goaltender and block shots.  Keep an eye on any adjustments Claude Julien might make with his defensive pairings throughout the series to try and neutralize the Lightning.  The Lightning's defensive unit will take a hit depending on how long they expect Pavel Kubina to be out. The Lightning defense also was key in shutting down the Capitals power play. Expect lots of hitting from each team on the blue line.

Advantage: Boston Bruins

Goaltending
They play thus far by Roloson and Thomas speaks for itself here. Roloson posts marginally better statistics with a 2.01 Goals Against Average and .941 Save Percentage compared to Thomas' numbers at 2.03/.937 respectively. They are the best in the playoffs so far in keeping the puck out of the net and I don't expect a change in this series.  Each goaltender realizes the importance that one mistake can make in a series which is why every minute of every period is so crucial in the Conference Finals. 

Advantage: Push

I think this series will maintain the excellent play that we've seen in the playoffs this year. Hopefully, that includes a few OT games and maybe another Game 7 in what would be a rocking TD Garden crowd anxious for one of its teams to beat a team with Florida zip code. I think that the 'X-Factor' in this series is Dwayne Roloson because he doesn't have quite the defense that Tim Thomas camps behind. Sometimes the pressue can get to a goalie, but with a veteran like Roloson he should be up to the task.

Tampa Bay Lightning win 4-2

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Eastern Conference Semis

If you're not a hockey fan, then the first round of the NHL Playoffs was just a snapshot of why you are obviously not a sports fan. Each series was filled with headlines, offered great match ups, historical importance, and a flare for the dramatics.  As always there were missing teeth, blood, glove saves, kick saves, and snipes.  Throw in a few penalty shots and a plethora of OT and it strengthens my argument for the greatest playoffs in sports; bar none. With that being said, here's a recap of first round Eastern Conference action and a look at the semifinal slates. 

As you can find here, I correctly picked the top-seeded Fighting Bruce Boudreau's and their revamped style of "defense first" hockey to dethrone King Henrik and the Rangers; however I predicted a 4-2 series win and the Caps did it in Game 5. I went for the upset pick in the Flyers-Sabres series and while I did correctly pick the length of the series, Danny Briere and the Flyers were able to secure the series at home in Game 7. I am proud to say that I picked the winner and the length of the series in the Bruins-Canadiens series. I did not foresee each team winning their first two road games of the series, then taking home ice advantage in the remaining three games. But, the series lived up to the hype in terms of physical hockey and a splash of goaltending brilliance.  Lastly, I correctly picked the Lightning to defeat the Crosby-less Penguins; however the series lasted the full seven games, not six as I had predicted.  Not only was Crosby a great set up man for his linemates, he was a great leader for that team, something that can't be underestimated as to why the Penguins could not advance.  Props to the high-scoring Lightning though for moving on. If you're keep tabs, I scored on 75% of my shots in the first round. Let's chat about Round Doux.

Semin (left) and Ovechkin (right) can bring it. Will they get
enough support against the Lightning?

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #5 Tampa Bay Lightning

These Southeast Division combatants face-off in what promises to be another round of masterful hockey.  The Lightning rallied back from a 3-1 deficit against the Penguins on the heels of netminder Dwayne Roloson and an offense that found ways to score goals at crucial times.  The Lightning finished four points out of first in the SE Division and were 2-3 against the Caps in the regular season.  But the Capitals enter this series as a confident bunch after flexing their muscles against the pesky Rangers.  The new defensive prowess of this team, along with the right amount of offensive weapons in Ovechkin, Semin, and Backstrom seem to have a legitimate chance of getting to the Conference Finals.  Keep an eye on Mike Green, the Caps defensemen that was hit in the head with a puck.  If he's out for a considerable amount of time, the Lightning may have what it takes offensively with the likes of Stamkos, St. Louis, Gagne, and Lecavalier to shock the Capitals. Both goalies are playing well, but Michal Neuvirth looked solid from Game 1 on against the Rangers.  I think this is another great series, but the Capitals are too deep and have a mentality that they are never out of a game if they get down. Capitals 4-2

Is Tim Thomas the 'X-Factor' in the series? Stay tuned.

#2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #3 Boston Bruins

I know I've beaten the dead horse in the Eastern Conference with constant references to history, but of the two semifinal games, this is the one that has more chapters than Harry Potter.  The Bruins didn't disappoint in their series against the Canadiens in making it a memorable playoffs.  I expect nothing less between these two teams because if you don't mind a litter refresher, let me remind you that jsut last year, the Bruins held a 3-0 lead on the Flyers before the Flyers won 4 straight games and rolled through the playoffs to the Stanley Cup Finals.  If you think that each arena won't be rockin' then you're mistaken.

This series will be high energy and loaded with highlight reel hits. I give the edge on offense to the Flyers because they have too many weapons to be held down.  The defenses of each teams is nearly a wash. The Bruins and Flyers each have verteran blueliners, like Zdeno Chara and Chris Pronger, who can get the puck to the net and take each others' forwards out of the game physically.  If you don't know, the Flyers had more goalie changes in Round 1 than Charlie changes his outfit for Water Street if I may steal a line from fellow writer Easy E.  However, they managed to weather the storm and advance.  Clearly, Tim Thomas is the best of the goalies in this series so the overwhelming advantage goes to the Bruins.  This prediction is a crapshoot because there are too many variables in this series.  My heart is calling for the Flyers, but my head is telling me that the Bruins are the safe pick, albeit in a tense six games.  Bruins 4-2

-Pat

CSI: Montreal

I take the same stance as Charlie in regards to the Montreal police opening an investigation into the hit by Mr. Chara that concussed and fractured a vertebra in Mr. Max Pacioretty's neck.  As much as I love the gruesomeness and guts that the NHL brings to the sports world, more so than any other sport in the world besides rugby, I don't applaud career threatening injuries.  However, if I were a member of the MPD the first place I would look for evidence in this 'ongoing criminal investigation' would be the user friendly, video conglomerate, YouTube.

 Here's a key piece of the puzzle that I think can help solve this case. It looks to be surveillance footage of Mr. Pacioretty being a pest after scoring the game-winning OT goal exactly 3 months prior to the alleged incident that has resulted in the outcry from Canadians' fans, police force, and Mr. Pacioretty himself.

At approximately the 1:15 mark of this clip, we see the plaintiff, Mr. Pacioretty, committing a petty crime against the defendant, Mr. Chara.  At the time of March 8th's incident, when Mr. Pacioretty is clocked into the stanchion, the alleged attacker is listed at 6'9", 255 lbs. and the victim is believed to be a generous 6'2", 208 lbs. To me this all boils down to a much larger and more physical player in Mr. Chara, finishing the play on a smaller, more finesse player in Mr. Pacioretty. 

In my filed report, I am claiming that Mr. Chara may have had previous motive to act out on Mr. Pacioretty for his bush league stunt early in January, however, that is not an ample reason for the Montreal police to prosecute Mr. Chara at this time.  Mr. Chara was given due process of the law in his ejection from Tuesday night's game and the resulting injuries to Mr. Pacioretty, were not due to the gross negligence of Mr. Zdeno Chara, the Boston Bruins, or the NHL. An additional note that may be pertinent to this investigation is that this game is fast, physical, and there is always a risk for the potential of injury, but beyond the actions of one Mr. Marty McSorley or Mr. Todd Bertuzzi, this is not enough to charge Mr. Chara.

Case Closed.

-Patrick