The 2012 NHL is at an end (though at present time the Sharks are still battling the Kings) and the playoffs will being on April 11th. It was a heck of a season and I was not able to get to any games during this season. For the record, I travel a lot but I subscribe to the NHL Game Center so I can watch games on my laptop & phone. I follow a few teams (Sabres, Caps, Blackhawks and Bruins) but I do manage to keeps tabs on most teams. Here's my take on the 2012 playoffs starting with the Eastern Conference. Keep in mind in the the NHL, they re-seed after each round.
Ottawa Senators (#8) v. New York Rangers (#1): The Senators were pretty steady all year and by that I mean that they were pretty much in the lower half of playoff teams most of the year. This is a good team by any standards but their leader, Daniel Alfredsson, is pushing 40, Jason Spezza is their leading scorer but he doesn't strike fear in the hearts of opponents. I don't know much about the goalie Craig Anderson but he put up a good record but the Senators gave up 8 more goals than they scored. The Rangers have one of the best (if not the best) goalie in the league in Henrik Lundqvist, he didn't play well today but he won 39 games and let up 1.93 goals/game (2nd in the league). The Rangers play solid defense but are prone to go thru scoring droughts.
Prediction: Rangers in 5. Ottawa will keep the games close but the Rangers are just too good.
Philadelphia Flyers (#5) v. Pittsburgh Penguins (#4): Here are 2 teams with a history of bad blood. In the Flyers 6-4 win on 4/1 there was a bit of chippiness on the part of the Penguins towards the end of the game. Suffice to say there were a few Game Misconduct penalites handed out as well a few ejections. If Healthy the Penguins should advance but the Flyers are really tough and do not back down. Briere was hurt in the 4/1 game against the Pens but the Flyers are still potent with Giroux & Hartnell. The Pens have Malkin (league leader in points & 50 goal scorer) and an apparently healthy Sydney Crosby. With those 2 healthy the Pens won the Cup in 2009. Crosby is the most talented player in the NHL when healthy but the Pens go as Malkin goes. in 2009 when Malkin decided to play they came back & beat the Red Wings for the Cup. Good defense and goaltending. They're a team that no one wants to face. The only reason they're the 4th seed is because the Rangers won the division. The Pens finished only 1 point behind the Rangers.
Prediction: Based on talent the Pens should win this series. However I believe it's going 7 games with the Pens advancing. But I would not be surprised if the Flyers advanced. The winner of this series could go very far.
New Jersey Devils (#6) v. Florida Panthers (#3): The Panthers are coached by former Hartford Whalers standout, Kevin Dineen so I have a soft spot for them. The Panthers barely won the Southeastern Division and the they were -24 in goal differential (the worst of any playoff team). There is NO ONE on this team that scares anyone offensively and their best goalie was journeyman Jose Theodore (19-28 for his career in the playoffs). The Panthers lost the most OT/Shootouts of any playoff team this season and in the playoffs its sudden death. I don't think any team fears the Panthers but they better not overlook them either because these guys will hang around if you let them. Martin Brodeur is not as good as he was years ago at the age of 39 so one has to ask how much he has left? The Devils have never been an explosive team over the last 20 years and they're defense isn't what it once was but they're still a solid team.
Prediction: Devils in 6. As much as I want Kevin Dineen to succeed the Devils play a little bit better defense and they have guys who can put the puck in the net (5 guys scored 20 or more goals). So in a close game (which they're sure to be), I like the Devils.
Washington Capitals (#7) v. Boston Bruins (#2): This could be a real interesting series. From 2008-2011 the Caps won 4 division titles, a President's Trophy (best record in the league) but got bounced in the 1st round twice and never got to a conference final. The Caps have the leagues most exciting player in Alex Ovechkin but he seems to be an enigma this year. Their best goalie Tomas Vokoun has been hurt, his back-up Michal Neuvirth left a game earlier this week with an injury so they turned to 3rd stringer Braden Holtby. Goaltending will make or break the Caps. The Caps needed a Sabre loss on 4/5 to secure a playoff spot. This team is too talented to have wait until the last week to make the playoffs.
The Bruins are the defending Stanley Cup champions. They started this season slowly (Cup hangover no doubt), caught fire in the middle of the season and stumbled a bit at the end (if stumbled is a good word). Offensively the Bruins don't have a "big bopper" but they have a lot of different guys capable of stepping up (6 scored more than 20) in a big spot. Zedano Chara anchors a tough defense. The Bruins will look to control the pace and play very physical. Tim Thomas didn't have the kind of year he had last season but he can still stand on his head but he may not need to against the Caps.
Prediction: Bruins in 6. The Caps don't have a goalie that's as good as Thomas' back-ups (Rask & Turco), plus who knows which Ovechkin will show up as he seems to dominate when he wants to or if at all. The Caps have the talent to make a run but you need a goalie to get hot to make a that run and the Caps are lacking in that department.
That's what I got and by my worthless predictions, the Rangers would face the Devils and the Pens would square off against the Bruins in the semi-finals. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Any thoughts or opinions are welcome and it should be an exciting NHL playoff season. Thanks for your time.
Ottawa Senators (#8) v. New York Rangers (#1): The Senators were pretty steady all year and by that I mean that they were pretty much in the lower half of playoff teams most of the year. This is a good team by any standards but their leader, Daniel Alfredsson, is pushing 40, Jason Spezza is their leading scorer but he doesn't strike fear in the hearts of opponents. I don't know much about the goalie Craig Anderson but he put up a good record but the Senators gave up 8 more goals than they scored. The Rangers have one of the best (if not the best) goalie in the league in Henrik Lundqvist, he didn't play well today but he won 39 games and let up 1.93 goals/game (2nd in the league). The Rangers play solid defense but are prone to go thru scoring droughts.
Prediction: Rangers in 5. Ottawa will keep the games close but the Rangers are just too good.
Philadelphia Flyers (#5) v. Pittsburgh Penguins (#4): Here are 2 teams with a history of bad blood. In the Flyers 6-4 win on 4/1 there was a bit of chippiness on the part of the Penguins towards the end of the game. Suffice to say there were a few Game Misconduct penalites handed out as well a few ejections. If Healthy the Penguins should advance but the Flyers are really tough and do not back down. Briere was hurt in the 4/1 game against the Pens but the Flyers are still potent with Giroux & Hartnell. The Pens have Malkin (league leader in points & 50 goal scorer) and an apparently healthy Sydney Crosby. With those 2 healthy the Pens won the Cup in 2009. Crosby is the most talented player in the NHL when healthy but the Pens go as Malkin goes. in 2009 when Malkin decided to play they came back & beat the Red Wings for the Cup. Good defense and goaltending. They're a team that no one wants to face. The only reason they're the 4th seed is because the Rangers won the division. The Pens finished only 1 point behind the Rangers.
Prediction: Based on talent the Pens should win this series. However I believe it's going 7 games with the Pens advancing. But I would not be surprised if the Flyers advanced. The winner of this series could go very far.
New Jersey Devils (#6) v. Florida Panthers (#3): The Panthers are coached by former Hartford Whalers standout, Kevin Dineen so I have a soft spot for them. The Panthers barely won the Southeastern Division and the they were -24 in goal differential (the worst of any playoff team). There is NO ONE on this team that scares anyone offensively and their best goalie was journeyman Jose Theodore (19-28 for his career in the playoffs). The Panthers lost the most OT/Shootouts of any playoff team this season and in the playoffs its sudden death. I don't think any team fears the Panthers but they better not overlook them either because these guys will hang around if you let them. Martin Brodeur is not as good as he was years ago at the age of 39 so one has to ask how much he has left? The Devils have never been an explosive team over the last 20 years and they're defense isn't what it once was but they're still a solid team.
Prediction: Devils in 6. As much as I want Kevin Dineen to succeed the Devils play a little bit better defense and they have guys who can put the puck in the net (5 guys scored 20 or more goals). So in a close game (which they're sure to be), I like the Devils.
Washington Capitals (#7) v. Boston Bruins (#2): This could be a real interesting series. From 2008-2011 the Caps won 4 division titles, a President's Trophy (best record in the league) but got bounced in the 1st round twice and never got to a conference final. The Caps have the leagues most exciting player in Alex Ovechkin but he seems to be an enigma this year. Their best goalie Tomas Vokoun has been hurt, his back-up Michal Neuvirth left a game earlier this week with an injury so they turned to 3rd stringer Braden Holtby. Goaltending will make or break the Caps. The Caps needed a Sabre loss on 4/5 to secure a playoff spot. This team is too talented to have wait until the last week to make the playoffs.
The Bruins are the defending Stanley Cup champions. They started this season slowly (Cup hangover no doubt), caught fire in the middle of the season and stumbled a bit at the end (if stumbled is a good word). Offensively the Bruins don't have a "big bopper" but they have a lot of different guys capable of stepping up (6 scored more than 20) in a big spot. Zedano Chara anchors a tough defense. The Bruins will look to control the pace and play very physical. Tim Thomas didn't have the kind of year he had last season but he can still stand on his head but he may not need to against the Caps.
Prediction: Bruins in 6. The Caps don't have a goalie that's as good as Thomas' back-ups (Rask & Turco), plus who knows which Ovechkin will show up as he seems to dominate when he wants to or if at all. The Caps have the talent to make a run but you need a goalie to get hot to make a that run and the Caps are lacking in that department.
That's what I got and by my worthless predictions, the Rangers would face the Devils and the Pens would square off against the Bruins in the semi-finals. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Any thoughts or opinions are welcome and it should be an exciting NHL playoff season. Thanks for your time.
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