It’s that time of the
year again. The NFL draft is closing in,
the Masters has kicked off the PGA season, and Major League Baseball is on
every channel, every day. More importantly,
professional hockey’s regular season has come to a close which can only mean one
thing; the NHL playoffs are upon us. The
greatest playoff of any sport starts tonight and will consist of hockey’s best
teams. While 14 teams are scheduling tee
times and planning summer vacations, 16 teams have earned the right to compete for the biggest and most sought after trophy
in all of sports, the Stanley Cup.
Eastern
Conference
Starting this year’s
tournament, the Tampa Bay Lightning host the most historic franchise in hockey,
the Montreal Canadians. The Lightning
won 3 of the 4 match ups against their new division rival this season. Led by 2014
gold medalists’ goaltender Carey Price and defensemen P.K. Subban, the
Canadians will look to their defense to win this series. Prediction: Montreal in 7 games.
In one of the more
intriguing matchups, the President Trophy winning Boston Bruins will host the
best 4 seed in the playoffs. Making
their 23rd consecutive playoff appearance (longest active streak in
professional sports), the Red Wings are a young team and may be without captain
Henrik Zetterberg. The Bruins come into
the post season with minimal injuries and highly skilled at all positions. With Detroit relying on their young players
who lack in playoff experience, the advantage goes to Boston. Prediction: Boston in 6 games.
Not much of a matchup
in this one. The Penguins are possibly
the best team in the east with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the
lineup. Columbus’s only chance is if
their goaltender and 2013 Vezina trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky stands on his
head and shuts down Pittsburgh’s offense.
Prediction: Pittsburgh in 4 games.
One of the oldest and
most hated rivalries in all of sports, the Rangers - Flyers series will be physical
and high scoring. The winner of this
series will be the one who wins the battles in the corners and in front of the
net. Both teams have good goaltenders
but can be easily rattled if scored on early. Look for lop sided wins by both teams. Prediction: Philadelphia in 6 games.
Western Conference
Finishing 1 point
behind Boston in the standings for the top team in the league, the Ducks are looking to not repeat last year's 1st round exit. They host a Dallas
Stars team who got into the playoffs the last week of the season. Anaheim is loaded with talent, but they will
only go as far as their starting goalie will take them. Look for the Ducks to win this series early. Prediction: Anaheim in
5 games.
If you pick one series
to watch during the playoffs, this is the series you want to watch. Two of the best all around teams in the NHL,
the Sharks and Kings are division rivals who hate one another, and it shows. Los Angeles is two years removed from their
Stanley Cup Championship and San Jose has never been able to get over the hump
of making it to the finals. Look for a
long series with home ice being a key to winning.
Prediction: Los
Angeles in 7 games.
Former goalie and now
coach, Patrick Roy, has the Colorado Avalanche playing the best hockey they've played in the last few years. Young goal scorers and a solid
goaltender have given the Avs the top seed in the Central Division. The Wild are the top wild card team and
although they acquired all-star and Olympian free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter last summer, they
do not have the depth to stay with Colorado. Prediction: Colorado
in 5 games.
The St. Louis Blues’
offense has been plagued by injury during the last few weeks of the regular
season. With many of their top scorers needing
a game or two to get back into things, the Blackhawks have a great opportunity
to get ahead early in the series. Newly
traded goalie Ryan Miller has also been shaky for the Blues. Chicago has
virtually the same team as last season when they won the Stanley Cup and are full of veterans with plenty of playoff experience. Prediction: Chicago in
6 games.
Check out your favorite
team’s playoff schedule
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Interesting!
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