Round 2 Series Predictions

First round results:
I said Rangers in 6
Rangers won in 7
.5

I said Bruins in 5
Capitals won in 7
0

I said Devils in 4
Devils won in 7
.5

I said Penguins in 7
Flyers won in 6
0

I said Canucks in 6
Kings won in 5
0

I said Blues in 7
Blues won in 5
.5

I said Coyotes in 6
Coyotes won in 6
1

I said Predators in 6
Predators won in 5
.5

So for the first round, in which many things did not quite make sense, I went 5/8. The first round produced each seed winning the series (1 Rangers, 2 Blues, 3 Coyotes, 4 Predators, 5 Flyers, 6 Devils, 7 Capitals, 8 Kings)

So the second round matchups are set up and it's gonna be a great round for hockey. I'm gonna give a brief prediction for each series. If you want a dissection of each, I took enough time to do that with the first round predictions over here.

Here is the schedule for the second round games.

1. New York Rangers vs. 7. Washington Capitals
Regular season series tied 2-2

NJ Devils Fan Wins Twitter Debate vs. Panthers

In game 5 of the series between the New Jersey Devils and the Florida Panthers, rubber rodents found their way onto the ice before time expired. This was, you see, a bit of a problem, because for years now, the NHL has been making empty threats to teams for throwing stuff on the ice during games. They can only be thrown after the final horn. However, they threaten to call a delay-of-game penalty on the home team, if something is thrown mid-game, for not being able to control their crowd.

But they've never actually done it before.

After game 5, the president of the Panthers, Michael Yormark, announced that they will no longer be selling the rubber rats at the games (they sell these rats for $5, wait til after the game, recollect the ones thrown on the ice, resell them for the next home game). But what really stirred the hockey world was that in his explanation, he said, "Panthers will not sell rats at Pantherland (team shop). This is a result of visiting fans throwing rats on the ice during the game. Panthers will not tolerate any fan throwing items on the ice during our game. If seen, they will be ejected from the arena immediately."

So pretty much every hockey fan outside of Fort Lauderdale just shook their head at the bizarre remark and went on with their day. There's a very slim chance that it was a Devils fan who maniacally threw a rat on the ice in a devilish (no punn intended) attempt to draw a penalty. In all likelihood, it was an exciting Panthers fan who was psyched for a big home win and couldn't resist the toss. And even if it was a Devils fan, how could you possibly prove that Devils fans threw it? 

One Devils fan who took offense to this statement by the Panthers was 26 year old Laura Rubino. She said that they took the easy way out by blaming the Devils fans instead of just saying that their fans were too exuberant. 

So, like any normal hockey fan would, she tweeted her thoughts.

"@PanthersYormark is making an ass out of himself and the organization."

Little did she know, her Twitter feed was about to explode as the President of the Panthers obnoxiously responded to her with the following:

Really? Is that how a president of an organization is supposed to talk to fans? Also, since when do opinions become valid based on a person's amount of followers?

This really shook up Laura. "I was like, 'Wow, this man is the president of a sports team and this is how he talks to people?' I would have been fine if he had said shut up, but he said 'your opinion doesn't matter.' I really don't care how many Twitter followers I have. I'm on Twitter because it's fun," she said. "But to tell someone their opinion doesn't matter kinda rubs me the wrong way."

The Star-Ledger picked up the story and blasted Yormark for his remarks on the situation. 

The Devils heard about the story and invited Laura to game 6 with free tickets in a luxury suite. Oh and by the way, the Devils won that game to force a game 7 thanks to Brendan Shanahan...errr..... I mean Travis Zajac's overtime heroics.

What happened next gets intense.

This situation became news. And since the hockey community is so freaking awesome, fans of all nearly all teams gave Laura Rubino (@LaurenAshley07) a follow. Their goal was simple. Get Laura's follower total to overpass Yormark's total before game 7.

Ladies and gentlemen, it has.

Earlier today I received note that Laura did indeed beat Yormark. Not only that, she completely obliterated him. 

Right now:

@LaurenAshley07: 4,036 followers and rising (give her a follow!)

@PanthersYormark: 3,313 followers

So now the question arises. Is her point more valid now than it was before? I guess according to Yormark it is.

Anyway, this is truly a great story of the underdog getting help from the world to defeat the evil villain. This media attention certainly causes some damage and embarrassment for the Panthers and they really lost this battle.

But the real battle comes tomorrow. Game 7.


Edit: Things got even better for Laura when Michael contacted her the next night, apologizing for his remarks on Twitter. He then offered her and her Father tickets to fly down to Florida to watch game 7 in box seats.

after tonight's game 7

What Went Wrong For the San Jose' Sharks?

2. St. Louis Blues defeat 7. San Jose' Sharks in 5 games
Game 1: Sjs 3 Stl 2 OT2
Game 2: Sjs 0 Stl 3
Game 3: Stl 4 Sjs 3
Game 4: Stl 2 Sjs 1
Game 5: Sjs 1 Stl 3

Well to start things off, I wanted to point out that I've never really bought in to the whole "choking" in the playoffs thing. Obviously each year brings a new team and new challenges and it's hard to label one franchise as a "choke".

But this is a little different.

It'd be one thing if the Sharks put up a legitimately strong effort against the tough team in St. Louis. But they didn't really do that.

First I'd like to look at a commonly overlooked stat in the league. Faceoffs play a major role in any hockey game (just ask Nashville). In the regular season, San Jose' was second in the league, winning close to 54% of their draws. St. Louis? They were middle of the pack winning close to 50%. Come playoff time and the Sharks disappoint everyone while they were  pathetic in the faceoff circle winning 49% of their draws.

Powerplay (which was good this year) was putrid. Penalty kill (which was bad this year) was putrid. St. Louis killed them in the special teams department.

These types of playing-down in playoff time gives the Sharks the reputation of being chokers.

Individual performances?

Joe Pavelski, who was essentially the heart and soul of the team throughout the regular season, did not register a point in the 5 games.

Patrick Marleau did not register a point either after being the leading scorer for this San Jose' team.

Goalie Anti Niemi was not sharp when he needed to be for them.

The defense didn't step up on offense either. I'm sorry but if Colin White lead defenseman in goals for the Sharks, that's a problem.

Oh wait....Marc-Edouard Vlasic had a goal also. My bad.

Puck Daddy put it well on his radio show last week. Game 1 for San Jose' was like "Oh hey, we're the San Jose' Sharks and we've been here before and we have a stacked team and all that."
And then games 2-5 for St. Louis were like "Oh yeah? Well we're the Blues and we had the second most points in the Western Conference"

Like I wrote in the series preview, St. Louis is a fantastic hockey team and a team that should not be overlooked. After winning easily in round 1, people are looking at this as more of a Sharks choking again than a Blues playing great hockey. It's true to some extent but the Blues did play great and the Sharks drew the short straw having to play them and all.

Maybe if they were better defensively they wouldn't have had that problem...

What Went Wrong For the Detroit Red Wings?

4. Nashville Predators defeat 5. Detroit Red Wings in 5 games
Game 1: Det 2 Nsh 3
Game 2: Det 3 Nsh 2
Game 3: Nsh 3 Det 2
Game 4: Nsh 3 Det 1
Game 5: Det 1 Nsh 2

Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne Pekka Rinne

Need I say more?

Yes, it is true that there were other aspects to this series than the fact that Pekka Rinne played like the superstar goalie that he is, but this is most likely the number one reason Detroit only scored 9 goals in 5 games while they averaged 2.92 goals in the regular season. But I'll just try to throw in a few others.

Seemingly in each game this series, Detroit was asleep through one period (aside from game 2). They gave up several first period goals and they didn't really start putting on pressure until later in the game. True, Detroit was 5th in the league this season in wins when trailing after the first period, but Nashville's stingy defense and remarkable goaltender did not allow any comebacks and were strong even after Detroit woke up in the later periods.

Also, the Red Wings simply did not at all play like the Detroit Red Wings we have grown to expect out of them. They made terrible decisions on the ice and at times looked clueless. Here is perhaps the most un-Detroit like goal we have seen in a long time:

Martin Erat takes the puck up the ice and draws, not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 Detroit players along with him to the corner. Included in that list? Solid defenseman Ian White, good defensive forward Jiri Hudler, how about (gasp) potential Norris Trophy candidate Nicklas Lidstrom, and as if that was not embarrassing enough, goalie Jimmy Howard joined the skate to the corner as well. And nobody thought of picking up Kevin Klein who slipped right in front.

Additionally, Detroit gave up a pair untimely, crushing goals late in games that killed whatever momentum they had going at that point. In game 1 they gave up a goal to go down 3-1 with 8 minutes left in the third (ended up being GWG). In game 3 they gave up a goal to go down 3-1 with 3 minutes left in the third (ended up being GWG).

But again, they were playing a stingy Nashville team, stacked with timely scoring, shut down defense, and an all world goalie. You can't exactly blame them for losing this series.

But then again, you can.

What Went Wrong For the Pittsburgh Penguins?

5. Philadelphia Flyers defeat 4. Pittsburgh Penguins in 6 games
Game 1: Phi 4 Pit 3 OT
Game 2: Phi 8 Pit 5
Game 3: Pit 4 Phi 8 
Game 4: Pit 10 Phi 3
Game 5: Phi 2 Pit 3
Game 6: Pit 1 Phi 5

When you look at these scores, you can probably tell what type of series this was. It was a series with all offense and no defense and goaltending. These types of games clearly do not favor a team made like Pittsburgh's which is a team (supposedly) built on chemistry. Philly's offense is more of a powerhouse type and I gave their offense the nod in my series preview. And in a series with all offense and slim-to-none defense and/or goaltending, this translated poorly for the Penguins.

So what went wrong for Pittsburgh exactly? Rob Rossi of the Tribune-Review pointed out 3 things that could have led to this loss.


1) SIDNEY CROSBY COMING BACK:
All year long the Penguins showed that they were not to be affected by Crosby's absence. True, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal stepped up big time for the Pens but it was also their role players filling in here and there. Pascal Dupuis had a very good season and Matt Cooke played pretty well also. Once Crosby came back a couple of things happened: 1) Crosby expected to fit right into the Penguins chemistry which was clicking just about all year and 2) Everyone else expected Sidney Crosby to play like Sidney Crosby. These two things just were not able to happen at the same time. Crosby's intrusion into the Pittsburgh lineup kind of slowed down the play of some of the role players there and it wasn't as sparkling as it could have been. Also, Crosby was in the awkward stages of testing to see what he could do returning from another concussion. The combination of these two things definitely had an impact on the way they played in the first round against the Flyers.


2) THE STARS DISAPPEARED:
The stars of Pittsburgh, with the exception of Jordan Staal, simply did not show up to play this series. Let's face it; Staal, Crosby, Malkin, and M.A. Fleury all have the ability to win at least one game on their own. Staal pretty much won his game in game 4. Fleury provided great goaltending and won his game in game 5. But Crosby and Malkin did not really do anything to earn a victory for the team. Fleury was also a disaster. True he finally had a great game in game 5 but he just simply was not there for Pitt when they needed him. Malkin and Crosby simply didn't contribute offensively. It's as simple as that. Some are saying that Crosby was not quite himself this series. They said he looked hesitant at times and wasn't playing like he should, like a captain should. Obviously in a playoff loss, the blame should not land entirely on only three players but these guys were for sure a reason they lost this series.


3) FACE IT PENGUIN FANS; THE FLYERS ARE BETTER:
I know it hurts for Pen fans to hear this (and it hurts me as a Devil fan to say this). The Flyers have the better team here. Philly is a tough, physical team yet they are deep and posses a strong will to win. They are built with talented all stars and promising rookies and everybody did their part to advance. People hated on Ilya Bryzgalov but he played well in big moments and was one reason Pitt had trouble scoring. But this is a Flyers team that's extremely difficult to matchup against and the Penguins witnessed that first hand.


I just wanted to point out one more thing about this series. Let's call it point 4.

4) PITTSBURGH HAD NO DEFENSE:

Pittsburgh's defense was literally like Swiss cheese out on the ice. People criticized Fleury all series long but he literally received no help from his defense. By the end of the season it came out that teams had figured out how to beat Fleury. But what it seemed like teams were actually saying was "Hey guys. Pitt has no defense so we can literally get any type of chance we want against Fleury." And it worked. Down the stretch? Fleury was awful. In this series? Fleury was awful. But the Penguins defense literally let the opposition walk right in and get chances. Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek were god-awful for the Penguins. This was something that separated these teams. Granted, Philly also had weak-ish defense at times. But they definitely did a good job clearing up the middle for Bryzgalov and made his job a lot easier in doing so. Fleury just didn't have the support.


But hey Pitt fans. It's only game. Why you heff to be mad?

Marchand's Bad Dive Leads to Tying Goal

These playoffs have been action packed and up tempo. But there still seems to be one thing that has been tainting these games.

The amount of diving in the first round has been truly pathetic. Players have been trying to take advantage of the referees by trying to embellish a play. The thing is though, it has been working.

Here's a play where Vancouver forward Ryan Kesler completely flops yet still gets the boarding call from the referees. This sends the signal to the other teams that you can get away with flopping and you can even possibly get a call out of it.

Today the Boston Bruins are fighting for their playoff lives against Washington. They are down in the series 3 games to 1.

With Boston up 2-1 in the 2nd period, forward Brad Marchand tries to get a call on a play where he doesn't even come close to getting hit. Honestly, this was the most pathetic embellishment I have seen all year.

Thankfully, the hockey gods were paying attention and they made Marchand pay immediately for it:

Yes indeed. After Marchand lay on the ice in the Washington zone, he gave the Washington defense all the room in the world to skate the puck up the ice. A nice pass and a complete overplaying of the puck by goalie Tim Thomas (something I alluded to last year after this and this against the Canucks) and Washington ties up the game.

Here, Marchand was not fooling anyone. The referees didn't bite and he just lay on the ice looking like an idiot. Oh how I love it.

So hopefully this awful play will limit the diving for the rest of the playoffs. It looks stupid and it ruins the flow of the game.

I just like the irony in Boston players diving :P

Martin Brodeur Gives Up Goal Because Of "Martin Brodeur Rule"

Ever since the lockout in 2005, there have been few rule changes as baffling and aesthetically displeasing than the trapezoid. The random lines behind the net confuse new fans and few people understand the purpose of it. The comedy hockey blog DownGoesBrown posted a fake player-survey in which they took a jab at the strange rule.

So just to get the official terminology of this ridiculously absurd rule, here it is:

1.8 Goalkeeper’s Restricted Area - A restricted trapezoid-shaped area behind the goal will be laid out as follows: Five feet (5') outside of each goal crease (six feet (6') from each goal post), a two-inch (2") red line shall be painted extending from the goal line to a point on the end of the rink ten feet (10') from the goal crease (eleven feet (11') from the goal post) and continuing vertically up the kick plate 

27.8 Restricted Area – A goalkeeper shall not play the puck outside of the designated area behind the net. This area shall be defined by lines that begin six feet (6’) from either goal post and extend diagonally to points twenty-eight feet (28’) apart at the end boards. Should the goalkeeper play the puck outside of the designated area behind the goal line, a minor penalty for delay of game shall be imposed. The determining factor shall be the position of the puck. The minor penalty will not be assessed when a goalkeeper plays the puck while maintaining skate contact with his goal crease.

So that's the rule.

The thought process behind it was that goalies won't play the puck as much as they used to, which will lead to more defenseman coming back to play the puck, which will lead to more room for chances by the opposing offense, thus creating more offense (even though I've wrote about offensive chances because of  goalie's playing the puck)

...Ya....sure...good reason (just as a side note, this rule has created a lot more boarding penalties and brutal injuries due to defensemen turning their backs on the play to receive the puck. Just another reason to abolish this rule.)

So the rule seems ridiculous especially along with the reasoning.

Perhaps the goalie most affected by this rule is Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. One of Brodeur's claim to fame was the way in which he stickhandled the puck. He was considered by many to be a 3rd defenseman for the Devils whenever the puck came to his end. The defenseman got open for outlet passes as Brodeur would gather the puck and pass it crisply up ice. Devils fans have been used to seeing Marty create great plays with his puck handling like this, and this (and many more like them on Youtube). He invested time into being the best in the game at it and even managed to be one of the 10 NHL goalies to have scored a goal.

But everything changed with the new trapezoid rule. Marty is no longer able to make it to some pucks and it puts him at a disadvantage, not allowing him to use a trademark that's been his ever since Ron Hextall was in the league. Teams used to have to change their game plan because the whole "dump-and-chase" system simply did not work against Marty. Fans even started calling this the "Martin Brodeur Rule" based on the target of the rule. This is, in fact, the first time a rule was made because one player was "too good at something".

So ever since then, fans, Marty, and even general managers have pleaded for a rule change. So far they have not been successful but you never know. (You can even buy a shirt for it from the "In Lou We Trust" hockey blog.)

In tonight's game 5 between the Devils and the Panthers, Brodeur and New Jersey were down a goal with over 6 minutes left in regulation and were putting on some pressure to try to tie it up. And then this happened:

I'm not discrediting Florida's goal. It wasn't a cheap gimme that they didn't deserve. They used every ounce of muscle they had left on a tough shift to get the puck down every inch of the ice and then were credited with a gift.

But this goal was clearly preventable without the trapezoid.

The puck was JUST out of reach for Marty when Kris "Devils Killer" Versteeg chipped the puck to a wide open Scottie Upshall.

Devils fans have been blaming this goal on Brodeur saying that he didn't use good judgment. But late in the game the ice was choppy and the puck died down outside of the ridiculous shape on the ice.

This goal put the game out of reach for New Jersey and they now face elimination Tuesday night on home ice.

This goal was a dose of irony for the goalie who pushes the most to get rid of the trapezoid. In what might be his last season, this goal may be his downfall.

Why The Ranger Fans Should Want a New Jersey Victory

USUAL FAN TURNOUT AT THE PRUDENTIAL CENTER

Although they are still in a closely matched 2-2 series with Ottawa, it appears that some Ranger fans have essentially booked their second round appearance already (we'll ignore this over-confidence problem for them a different time). 

They have been following their team with excitement and have backed them all season long and have been pumped so far this series. And most of all, they've been hating on the Devils.

This rivalry is most likely one of the most intense today. Each game between them this year has been intense and filled with memorable moments (3 simultaneous fights anyone?). These teams know each other all too well and the fans are in the action just as much.

This rivalry has a wikipedia page, and even a Seinfeld episode. These fan bases go back and forth arguing and fighting with each other.

And they may play each other next round.

Now I'll just play along with their game. Let's say the Rangers are locked in the 2nd round (I truly apologize to any Ottawa fans who are offended. I'm just entertaining this situation). If the Capitals lose and the Bruins win, that could set up the Devils-Rangers matchup.

Okay. Ask anybody what the most frustrating part of being a Rangers fan is, they'd most likely tell you it's the difficulty in buying tickets to a game. The arena holds 18,200 people and they sell out nearly every night. This causes ticket prices to spike seeing as Ranger fans are desperate for tickets. This results in many casual fans being left outside the arena for games, especially in the playoffs.

If you take a look on stubhub, the lowest price for a round 2 game 1 ticket in Madison Square Garden is around $155. That's the price right now and imagine how much higher it will get once the Rangers actually advance to the second round.

It could get expensive.

Most of you should know where I'm going by now. 

Let's just say the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey is away-fan-friendly, especially with the Ranger fans who swarm the Pru every Devils-Rangers game. New Jersey and New York are filled with Ranger fans willing to travel the small distance to the enemy arena and it seems the Pru is always blue for these contests.

The lowest price, as of this moment, to the first home game in round 2 in New Jersey is $65. Now obviously, that's still a bit pricey, but it's significantly better than coughing up $155 for seats in the nose bleed section in MSG. Therefore, this serves as the perfect opportunity for Ranger fans to see their team live this post season. 

So if you're a Ranger fan, think twice before you root against the Devils in round 1. Because they might be the only chance of seeing a Ranger playoff game live this year.

Ranger Fans Angry Over Suspensions

If you haven't heard already, Carl Hagelin of the New York Rangers was suspended 3 games for his elbow on Daniel Alfredsson and Matt Carkner of the Ottawa Senators was suspended 1 game for wanting to permanently imprint the face of Brian Boyle into the ice at MSG. The Ranger fans were predictably unsatisfied with the rulings and couldn't believe it happened.

Now I already wrote a little bit about the Hagelin suspension in this post here. (note: if you read the comments on that post, you'll pretty much get the gist of what I'm going to write here.) So ya, I wrote an explanation in the comments there so I decided I may as well copy some of the points over into one post here.


If you want to hear Shanahan's take on all three cases in a radio interview, I highly suggest you read this article by PuckDaddy


NOTE: THIS IS NOT ME BACKING UP THE OPINION OF BRENDAN SHANAHAN. THIS IS JUST MY EXPLANATION FOR WHY THEY RULED THE WAY THEY DID.


One point that Rangers fans have made was that suspensions occasionally have to do with the situation of the game. If a team is down by a lot and takes a dumb penalty, it'll be different than if the game is close. Boyle's hit came when the Rangers were holding onto a 1 goal lead. I would respond, however, that this was most likely a rookie getting caught up in a physical match and letting his emotions get to him. The “situation of the game” was a physical matchup. The whole Carkner-Boyle situation was quite ugly and both teams were physical all night. I’m not saying the NHL saw this as revenge for Carkner jumping Boyle, but the fact that the game was aggressive doesn’t exactly help his case. 


Another point that the Ranger fans jump on is that Hagelin is not at all a dirty player. He doesn't play like one and his 24 penalty minutes this season (with 0 five-minute majors) testify to that. This was a great point that's hard to account for. True, Hagelin is not at all a dirty player and this is what is troubling. I wrote how Keith also isn’t a dirty player and got 5 games for a somewhat similar hit but then again, Keith’s play was a tad different (for the worse). I know this answer won’t satisfy anyone but maybe the punishment would have been worse had it been a player with a history of illegal hits... (I know the question here is better than the answer but it is a very valid point).


Now I connected Hagelin's hit to other dirty hits from earlier this season by the end of this post. People have pointed out that they were different plays though.Those were players leading in with their elbow and 100% going in to injure the player. However, I still feel that this is a play that the NHL wants to get rid of and this was essentially the case of a rookie getting caught up in the moment in a physical game. I said I wouldn't be surprised with a 2-3 game suspension. The NHL went with the upper.

The Ranger fans pointed out how Alfredsson seemed to be on the rise health-wise and that the suspension was too severe for a case where the victim is almost already back. True, Alfredsson did practice today with the Senators after passing his baseline test this morning. But the NHL made the announcement the day before and they only had information that was available at the time (As far as I know, Shanahan does not use a crystal ball for his suspensions). At that time, all the NHL knew was that Alfie missed the rest of the game with a concussion and could perhaps miss more time. Alfredsson did not play tonight. But the injury could have added another game to Hagelin’s suspension.


Next, they may point to opinions who said that Weber got off easy and that he wasn't suspended because he was a star for Nashville. To that, I'd like to say that I have been stressing that to a lot of people that you can't compare the Weber play with this play because A) it was a completely different situation and B) the NHL, in my opinion, should have given supplemental discipline there so it was a mistake. As for Hagelin's vital role on the Rangers, it’s a bit different than a star player like Weber (not backing up the NHL on not suspending a star player, I’m just saying). Hopefully the NHL doesn’t look into this THAT much, but a player like Hagelin (a rookie who fills the top line and creates space for Richards and Gaborik while adding speed and hard forechecking) will not be given the green light while a player like Weber (heart and soul of Nashville’s team, top defenseman, top of the powerplay, and, arguably, Nashville’s most marketable player) will.

And last but not least comes the complaints about the Hagelin suspension vs. the Carkner suspension. How can Carkner justifiably receive a 1-game suspension, with the Hagelin 3??? Carkner has a history of suspensions and fines and what he did was complete revenge for Boyle roughing up Ottawa player Erik Karlsson in game 1. There was clear intent to injure and this was completely behind the play and extremely dirty.

So I’ve done my best to kind of back this decision up. I have heard an incredible amount of complaints over the last day from angered Ranger fans (and rightfully so). I felt Carkner should have received about 2 games for the play. My main argument was that the NHL was all for player security. Brian Boyle did jump Karlsson in game 1. The enforcers of the NHL are needed to keep their star players safe so they can do what they do and not get into trouble with the opposition. I think the expectation (and yes, even in a different game. Do you remember all the aggression the Sabres took out on Lucic the next time they played after the Miller-run?) was that Boyle will receive some type of retribution for this. The play was extremely dirty and it was behind the play which makes it all the more unlikeable. This type of retribution does happen pretty frequently except it’s usually not as illegal. Carkner did not throw a punch with his glove on. The main issue was that Boyle was an unwilling combatant and that Carkner continued throwing punches even though Boyle was on the ice. Throw in that Carkner is a repeat offender (in a similar case where he stepped up for a teammate) and the ruling does not make too much sense.

I think that the NHL viewed this as a normal beginning of a fight. They didn’t look at it as Carkner cheapshotting him. They looked at it that Carkner just began the fight with the unwilling combatant. If that is the case, it makes a little more sense. The NHL saw a player defending his star (which, in my opinion, makes a good case for Carkner. I think there is a fine line between revenge and stepping up for a player). They tagged him for fighting an unwilling combatant. Now I said that it should have been 2 games especially because of his history and his role of being an enforcer on the team. But it appears the NHL didn't agree.

Now everyone is going to have their own view on this. I’m trying to withdraw my say as a Devil fan and am trying to keep this as impartial as possible. But Ranger fans are going to see one thing and Senators fans will see another thing and at the end of the day, both of them will feel that they are right. Department of Player Safety is not a perfect system and they do make mistakes (see Weber incident) but they are here to decide on plays like these.

note: while writing this post, Marc-Andre Fleury has given up 5 goals

Dustin Brown Delivers Hit of the Playoffs

Unfortunately, in today's NHL, we don't see too many clean booming hits anymore. Players today all too often go for the big hit and end up letting their elbows flair and they occasionally leave their feat and/or target the head. That's what makes this hit all the more special/awesome.

In last night's game 3 between the Canucks and the Kings, LA captain Dustin Brown lined up Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin from a mile away. Sedin had to wait JUST outside the LA zone to stay onside and has he was beginning to circle around (to avoid Anze Kopitar), Brown came out of nowhere and knocked him down hard.

The hit was monstrous and Sedin had to take several seconds to regain balance/to remember what area code he was in. 

Brown is known for his physical presence and shows it here. But Vancouver fans actually wanted Brown suspended, something that I find even more ridiculous than Ranger fans upset with the Hagelin ruling!

So I wanted to look at this hit in every possible way and dispute the request for suspension.

First off, Henrik Sedin AND head coach Alain Vigneault both said it was a clean hit.

It was not "charging". Charging can be called when a player leaves his feet in a hit or travels a distance directly at a player for the hit. It was neither. True, Brown had the hit set up from just beyond Centre Ice but Sedin was just standing there with the puck so it was not a penalty.

It was not "boarding" for obvious reasons.

It was not "elbowing". Sure, Brown's elbow flared up at the end of the hit but that was just on his follow through. His actual hit was shoulder-to-shoulder and his elbow popped up when Henrik went down. People often confuse that with elbowing and it is one reason why people view Scott Stevens' hits as dirty (clean hit by Stevens). They see the elbow flare up after the hit and automatically consider it elbowing. But it's a natural occurrence especially on big hits like these.

It was not a head shot. Like I said before, it was shoulder-to-shoulder.

It was not interference. The hit was immediately following a pass by Sedin and it was in less than the half a second (.5 seconds) that the NHL gives to make a hit after a pass.

People did question the hit as a "blindside" hit or that Sedin was in a "vulnerable" position. However, the blindside terminology was removed from Rule 48 definition a year ago. Blindside is not a factor anymore. The important distinction now is between "unsuspecting" and "defenseless" players. An unsuspecting player puts himself in that situation while a defenseless player is one who has no reasonable expectation of being hit (i.e. a defenseman who is hit from behind along the boards). Henrik was not at all defenseless and was more of an unsuspecting player with his back turned to the play. When he made the play along the boards, he had to suspect that a hit was coming. He figured that he was all clear of everyone besides for Kopitar who was coming in on him which was why he turned. That last second turn made the hit not from behind. 

So to sum up, it was not targetting the head, late (interference), elbowing, charging, or boarding. It was just one fine hell of a hit.

Amazing Opening Round

I talked about how great the playoffs were last year A) for their multiple game 7's and B) because of their abundance of overtime hockey.

Well the playoffs this year are heating up as teams are fully familiar with each other after 2 physical games. The ending of tonights Sharks-Blues game was just about a brutal a finish as I can remember.

and here was the stat sheet for penalties in the last 3 minutes of that San Jose'-St. Louis game:

Pretty extensive, eh?

And then there was that flat out brawl in the Rangers-Senators game.

So we are seeing a ton of physical hockey in the past few days and we have plenty more to come.

Just one thing I would like to touch on.

The last game this evening featured a rough one between the Coyotes and the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks were able to tie things up on a last minute goal (again) and sent the game into overtime. This was the 7th game that went into sudden death in the first round and there have only been 15 games.

Last year there were 14 overtimes over 49 games in the first round. The most there have ever been in the first round was 15 back in 2001. At the pace we are going, if there are 49 games in the first round again, we will see about 22 overtime games! This would truly be remarkable and would literally make this first round one of the best of all times.

So that is all. But just to remind you about the awesomeness involved in sudden death in the NHL playoffs, here are all of the overtime goals so far (you're welcome)

Jakub Voracek (Phi) Game 1 OT goal vs. Pittsburgh

Chris Kelley (Bos) Game 1 OT goal vs. Washington

Martin Havlat (Sjs) Game 1 2OT goal vs. St. Louis

Martin Hanzal (Phx) Game 1 OT goal vs. Chicago

Nicklas Backstrom (Wsh) Game 2 2OT goal vs. Boston

Chris Neil (Ott) Game 2 OT goal vs. New York

Bryan Bickell (Chi) Game 2 OT goal vs. Phoenix

NHL in Sticky Situation Regarding Discipline

At the time, it did not seem like the right decision. In the dying seconds of game 1 in the series between the Nashville Predators and the Detroit Red Wings, Shea Weber lost control of his emotions and went all WWE on Detroit forward Henrik Zetterberg.

Weber threw a punch (which didn't exactly connect) and then followed it with a shove of Zetterberg's face into the boards.


There was a clear risk of injury and the play by Weber was irresponsible and flat out unlawful. If this were a regular season game, I would have expected Weber to receive at least a one game suspension for what he did.


But this isn't the regular season. It is the playoffs. And Shea Weber is the captain of the Nashville Predators.


So the NHL went out and fined Weber $2,500 for the play and announced that it was "reactionary" and that Zetterberg did not "suffer an apparent injury on the play".


Sure Zetterberg seemed fine but what message does the NHL send by only slapping a fine on Weber? Go ahead and punch your opponent in your head and you'll only receive a $2,500 fine? Even though this would be a play that would surely be suspendable in the regular season?


Well clearly not because the same night, Canucks forward Byron Bitz (that's right, Byron Bitz) received a 2 game suspension for a boarding hit on Los Angeles defenseman Kyle Clifford.


So here we have 2 different plays where we would expect there to be supplemental discipline (namely suspensions) for the players involved. But one gets off the hook and I'm pretty sure we all know why. 


If Shea Weber were suspended one game by the NHL, Detroit could have easily dominated Nashville in game 2 and perhaps have turned around the series with the momentum they gained. It's not a secret that Weber is too valuable a piece to Nashville for him to miss 2 games.


So now we have more of a guideline for this.

A) It has to be a suspendable act

B) The victim cannot be injured

C) The attacker cannot be a valuable piece of the team

So now that we have these three things here, let's look at 2 incidences in tonight's hockey games.

The first I bring to you from game 2 of the Rangers and the Senators. Rookie sensation Carl Hagelin gets overwhelmed in a physical contest and delivers a dirty hit on Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson.

Well according to the new guidelines we just set, it was definitely a suspendable hit (at least 2 or 3 games for that flagrant elbow), it injured Ottawa's captain Daniel Alfredsson, but how important is Carl Hagelin? He's a first line forward and he really gets things going offensively for the Rangers. But do we put him on the same level as Weber? And we know that if Hagelin gets suspended, the entire state of New York will immediately point at the Weber incident in argument. So there is no real correct answer for the NHL here.

Here's another incident, this time involving San Jose' Shark's defenseman Brent Burns.

This is another flagrant elbow. But here Burns is a big-name player for the Sharks and it turned out that Scott Nichol was alright. But again, in the regular season this would most likely be at least a 1 game suspension.

So there is no winning outcome for the NHL and NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations Brendan Shanahan. They clearly messed up on the Shea Weber instance. I feel they made the right call with Byron Bitz but now they have to face the music with the next two plays. If it were up to me, it should be 2 games for Hagelin and 1 for Brent Burns. But there's no telling what will happen in both of those players' hearings tomorrow afternoon. We'll see if Shanny gets these ones right.


Note: Carl Hagelin was just given a 3 game suspension for his elbow on Alfredsson. In Brendan Shanahan's explanation (linked), he pointed out how Hagelin threw an elbow and was in violation of that rule and that Alfredsson was injured on the play. So the NHL did a good job here not making another mistake by avoiding supplemental discipline just because they didn't give to Weber. Also, considering Burns wasn't suspended, it could be that perhaps the NHL will be using the eye-for-an-eye method and that they may only suspend a player if their victim misses time because of the injury (we see this by the lack of supplemental discipline for the hit on Ryan Callahan (linked) by Chris Phillips in the same game in which Callahan was okay). But the NHL did a good job putting their foot down and setting some type of order. 


Just to clarify on a point, if Hagelin had done this in the regular season, he would have easily received a 5 or 6 game suspension. Duncan Kieth and Rene Bourque had similar plays in the regular season in which they blatantly targeted the head of opposing star players and they each received a 5 game suspension. They use a different scale in the postseason because they have a 7 game "season" to work with as opposed to the 82 game regular season. So I think the NHL did a fine job with this one.

Full First Round Predictions

I finally finished my analysis of the head-to-head matchups of each first round series in the NHL playoffs. I will put links here of each preview in this post just for convenience sake. These are not meant to be sure-thing predictions. I used statistics and my observations to put down a pick. I tried to refrain from putting in biased opinions. Thank you for reading.

EAST:
1. New York Rangers vs. 8. Ottawa Senators
2. Boston Bruins vs. 7. Washington Capitals
3. Florida Panthers vs. 6. New Jersey Devils
4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5. Philadelphia Flyers

WEST:
1. Vancouver Canucks vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings
2. St. Louis Blues vs. 7. San Jose' Sharks
3. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 6. Chicago Blackhawks
4. Nashville Predators vs. 5. Detroit Red Wings

This is the TV schedule for the first round.
Enjoy the Playoffs!

3 Coyotes vs. 6 Blackhawks: PREDICTIONS

Well, it’s playoff time again in the NHL. After a season I’d describe as freakin’ awesome, 16 teams now have to battle it out to go for the Cup. They already announced the schedule for the first round and pretty much every game will be on national TV.

Last year I predicted each series round-by-round and I was correct with 10 out of the 15 series. I thought it was pretty solid for my first time around. I got several upsets right and I got 7 out of 8 first round series correct. So here I go for the 2011-2012 Playoffs!!!!!

WEST

3. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 6. Chicago Blackhawks

Phoenix won regular season series 3 games to 1

This year was a statement year for Phoenix. After being ousted early in the playoffs two years in a row (thank you very much, Detroit) and after losing their starting goalie due to free agency, it seemed that Phoenix will at long last fold. As many of you know, Phoenix is in danger of losing their team and one of the main reasons they were still in Phoenix was because of their recent success. But most people assume this would be the year they would be done. But like their preseason pump up video showed, they were not quite ready to throw in the towel. They persevered all season long and, like what PuckDaddy famously wrote, they kind of complicated everything by winning so much. Phoenix finally hard enough to earn home ice advantage this year and perhaps avoid playing a tough team like Detroit which they had to do 2 consecutive years, but they got a tad bit unlucky and now have to face a tough 6-seeded Chicago Blackhawks team.

The Blackhawks' season has been up-and-down all year long. They had several cold streaks and were pretty mediocre on the road. Injuries did not help and they were without captain Jonathan Toews for the last 22 games of the season (he WILL start tonight though). Other offensive star Patrick Kane was also a little sour this season. However, the team was able to patch things up every now and then and finished with a very good 101 points. Their goalie Corey Crawford struggled for much of the season but finished strong and we know from last year's playoffs how good he could be.

OFFENSE: 

Chicago has had great offense for the last few years and this season is no exception. They're very deep and could score in many different ways. Although Kane was a bit sluggish this year with his career-low total of 66 points, guys like Patrick Sharp (33G, 36A) and Marian Hossa (29G, 48A) picked up the slack. They have solid goal scorers on other lines who have playoff experience so they should definitely come in handy this year. I really like how Viktor Stalberg's game has developed and Andrew Shaw had a great rookie year for the Hawks scoring 23 points in 37 games. The real question is how does Jonathan Toews do in his return and whether he is 100% or not. Daniel Sedin did not play in game 1 for the Canucks due to headaches after practices so it'd be interesting to see how much they push Toews in his first game back.

The Coyotes offense is not known for it's power, but for their consistent timely scoring (see St. Louis and Nashville). They have 4 full lines of guys who can contribute to the scoring and they don't necessarily rely on one single person. Their best player this year has been Ray "the Wizard" Whitney. The 39 year old has 77 points on the year and has been getting the job done for the Yotes (and for my fantasy team!). Lining with forward Radim Vrbata (35G, 27A) has worked out well for both of them and have quietly put together a very good season. These guys are all solid offensively but they are also all great defensely (Am I right Boyd Gordon?)

EDGE: Chicago's forwards are too good, too experience, and too deep. Phoenix just doesn't have the star power to match.

DEFENSE: 

Phoenix plays a very defensive minded game and they have the perfect defensemen for the job. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is one of the best young defensemen in the whole league and he plays big minutes for the Coyotes. Kieth Yandle is also among the best in the game and he had a pretty good season as well. Shootout specialist Adrian Aucoin also adds to the talent of the defensive core and gets the job done lining with OEL.

Chicago's defense has struggled a bit this year but definitely has room for improvement. The Hawks have given up a ton of goals this season and their defense isn't exactly helping the cause. But I do like how Niklas Hjalmarsson has played this year. He's highly underrated and that may or may not be because nobody knows how to properly pronounce his name. Duncan Kieth and Brent Seabrook both had solid seasons again. I'm concerned about Chicago's backline though. Johnny Oduya is a decent player but is apt to making bad turnovers (am I right Winnipeg fans?) and Nick Leddy, although offensively promising, has some defensive lapses of his own.

EDGE: Pheonix has the advantage here. It's pretty close skill-wise with the top few Dmen, but the Coyotes clearly have more depth to get the job done.

GOALIES:

No goalie is hotter right now than Mike Smith. The Coyotes are entering the post-season on a 5 game winning streak and of those 5, Mike Smith has 3 shutouts. After being a backup in Tampa for a few seasons, he took the league by storm and now has his name in the race for the Vezina Trophy. He is highly qualified and, best of all, is a fantastic puck handler (and you know how much I love it when a goalie can do that). He's got his team to rally around him and I'm certain he'll supply Phoenix with the type of goaltending they need in the playoffs (goaltending they didn't receive from Ilya Bryzgalov). Numbers: 38 wins, GAA 2.21, SV% .930, 8 shutouts.

The Blackhawks have had some trouble with young goalie Corey Crawford. He was shaky just about all season long, and at a point almost lost his starting job to wandering-goalie Ray Emery. I believed in him all year last season and he was sensational against Vancouver last year in the first round and he was one of the reasons that the series went 7 games. He'll have to do how he did last year against Vancouver if Chicago wants a chance to advance. Down the stretch, Crawford's game has improved quite a bit. He won 8 of his last 11 starts and got the Blackhawks to over 100 points and helped make history by doing so. Numbers: 30 wins, GAA 2.72, SV% .903, 0 shutouts.

EDGE: Mike Smith gives the Coyotes a huge edge here. Crawford will most likely be okay but I doubt he'll be as good as Smith is for Phoenix. In a best of 7 series you can't have a goalie with numbers that Crawford has. Plus, Smith's numbers are about at the top of the league so it's not even a question here.

SPECIAL TEAMS: 

Chicago has had a pretty bad powerplay this season. They're ranked 26th in the league with the man advantage and that's just not acceptable for a team of their caliber. You'd figure with the cast that they have, they'd be at the top of the league in that department but it is not so. But I would not be surprised if they started clicking come playoff time. They have the weapons out there to do so. Chicago is also bottom of the league on the Kill also. Their special teams is one of the reasons they had some trouble this year and they are desperately in need of a fixing.

The Coyotes have one of the worst powerplays in the league. They've tried different things all year but nothing has really clicked for them. It's extremely frustrating for them but they have no other options but to just keep trying. On the kill however, Phoenix shines. They are top 10 in the league on the kill and Mike Smith has been great for them. Earlier I hyperlinked a video of Boyd Gordon blocking shots on the kill, and it's that mindset that makes Phoenix so great here.

EDGE: Although the Hawks have the ability to be better on the Powerplay, the fact that the Coyotes are great on the kill gives them the edge here.

SIDENOTE: Paul Bissonnette (aka BizNasty2point0) of the Phoenix Coyotes has been a great entertainer on twitter. He is about the healthiest guy on the team (being a healthy scratch about every night) and keeps everyone happy with his twitter account. Here are some gems of his over the years. He most likely won't see ice time this post season but he's been working hard in the offseason (in the BioSteel camp. Find videos on youtube like this) and even scored a goal this year (a gamewinning goal actually!)

CONCLUSION: The Coyotes have been beating teams all year in pretty much the same way. Their minimal goal scoring proves just to be enough and their suffocating defense and magical goaltending closes out games. Chicago did have a very good season but they do not match up very well against the opportunistic Coyotes. Their offense will be matched with great defense and their defense and goaltending will not be enough to fend off the offense of Phoenix

PREDICTION: COYOTES IN 6 GAMES

Note: stick tap to dailyfaceoff.com for supplying starting rosters and stuff. Pretty sick site.

MVP For Nashville After Game 1

The Nashville Predators defeated the Detroit Red Wings tonight, in a rather interesting game, by the score of 3-2. The game was a bit sloppy and the referees literally called every penalty they saw (34 PIM in all). Mike Babcock even called out the referees during a mid-game interview. He pointed out how Detroit and Nashville were the two least penalized teams in the league so it didn't make much sense.

Anywho, Nashville received great games from several players. First of all, Pekka Rinne was simply splendid in net. His glove hand was ridiculous all night and he perhaps had two of the nicest saves in the playoffs at one point (which sadly nobody saw because it occurred the same time as the Philly-Pitt game was coming to a close). He held the fort and gave Nashville a chance to win. Which they did.

Rookie defenseman Roman Josi also played a great game tonight. Hal Gil was scratched last minute due to an injury so Nashville really needed their young Dmen to step up which Josi did. He was strong defensively all night and played 20:25, had 2 shots, and was a +2. This performance was clutch in his first career playoff game.

Then came forward rookie Gabriel Bourque. Bourque scored 2 goals including the game winner. His offense sparked the team to a clutch, much needed, opening game victory against their division foe.

But in my opinion, one player's performance rose above everybody elses. His under-appreciated play carried the team to victory.

And that man is Paul Gaustad.

People in Nashville were dumbfounded when hearing that they traded a first round pick for a player who's never had more than 36 points in a season. Hell, I still completely doubt that move. But tonight Gaustad showed his worth.

First of all, he opened up the scoring for Nashville.

True, it was not anything special. But they don't ask how, they ask how many. And that's a sweet sign for Gaustad who only had 7 goals this season.

But the main aspect of Gaustad's game tonight was in the faceoff circle. Gaustad was great in the regular season and boasted a 57.3% of faceoff wins. But tonight he was beyond great.

Tonight he did lose 8 faceoffs at of 20 (and winning 12 of them) for a highly respectable percentage of 60%. But it wasn't the amount that he won. It was the situations that he won them in. Firstly, he opened the game winning 5 out of his first 5 faceoffs. Additionally, he was 10 out of 16 in the defensive zone and it seemed that everytime there was an important faceoff, he was out there to win it back. As a matter of fact, in the last minute of the game with Nashville clinging to a 1 goal lead, Gaustad took 3 faceoffs in their own zone. He won the first one.
And then he won the second one.
And then he won the third one with just 5 seconds left to clinch the win.

Anytime Detroit desperately needed to win a faceoff, Gaustad stepped in and swiped it on back. This is a contribution that helps so much in a physical and close playoff game and Nashville needed this. 

4 Predators vs 5 Red Wings: PREDICTIONS

Well, it’s playoff time again in the NHL. After a season I’d describe as freakin’ awesome, 16 teams now have to battle it out to go for the Cup. They already announced the schedule for the first round and pretty much every game will be on national TV.

Last year I predicted each series round-by-round and I was correct with 10 out of the 15 series. I thought it was pretty solid for my first time around. I got several upsets right and I got 7 out of 8 first round series correct. So here I go for the 2011-2012 Playoffs!!!!!

WEST

4. Nashville Predators vs. 5. Detroit Red Wings

Regular season series tied 3-3

Although this isn't the most exciting series in the playoffs, it is certainly my favourite (and perhaps the most intriguing). The Predators have showed all of the doubters what they are able to do. Right now, they have the all-in mentality for their cup run. They just got Alexander Radulov over from the KHL by the end of the season hoping he is the missing piece. The Predators fought hard all year and earned home ice advantage in the first round, an advantage that's quite unique for them (I've wrote about it before, BEST BUILDING IN THE NHL). They held onto soon-to-be free agent defenseman Ryan Suter and Shea Weber at the trade deadline so you can clearly see they are going for it all this year.

The Red Wings had a pretty good year. They had that huge home ice winning streak and things looked dandy. Captain Nicklas Lidstrom stayed another year and was pretty good. Pretty much another typical year for the Red Wings (their fans are loyal and if you can't watch a game, don't worry. The Red Wings will excuse you). But based on the fact that they were absolutely dominant at home this year, you should be able to deduce that they were not as good on the road. Well you're absolutely correct. They were a miserable 17-21-3 on enemy territory this year and guess who has home ice in this series. That's correct. So before we start dissecting this matchup, Nashville has the early edge because of that.

OFFENSE:

This is a very typical Detroit team. Their offense is close to the best in the league. Pavel Datsyuk (who, I wholeheartedly believe, is the most skillful player in the NHL) was injured for a bit but when he was healthy, he was the dominant player we all expect him to be. He is joined by Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg as the main forwards for Detroit. Their first two lines are remarkably good and although their last 2 lines may not contribute THAT much offensively, their first two lines definitely make up for it.

Nashville's offense is 4 lines deep and they are filled with solid goal scoring. Similar to what I said about St. Louis' team, Nashville can receive scoring from anyone on their roster. Their production has actually been better than usual and believe it or not, they are only 8th best in the league in scoring, one spot behind Detroit. Their first line of Martin Erat, Sergei Kostitsyn, and Mike Fisher has been solid all year long and so has the other three lines. Their main offensive acquisitions were Alexander Radulov, who they got closer to the end of the season, and Andre Kostitsyn (brother of Sergei). Radulov, in his 9 games in the NHL, has a total of 7 points and has been playing pretty well. Nashville feels that this was the piece they've been missing and he'll need to be impressive for a potential run for the cup.

EDGE: Detroit has the edge offensively. There's just no way to match Datsyuk, Zetterberg and co. Detroit has always been strong offensively within the last decade and this is just another one of those powerful teams.

DEFENSE:

Nashville has a pretty solid defensive core. They have arguably the best defensive duo in the whole league with Weber and Suter. They are both strong Dmen who can move the puck up the ice, and they also have terrorizing shots. Acquiring Hal Gil only made this defensively strong team even stronger. The other Dmen are not as qualified as the previously mentioned but they're still solid. I think Kevin Klein is ready for playoff hockey as is Roman Josi.

The Red Wings have excellent defense this year. They are so good defensively I was surprised to have seen it. First of all, they have Nick Lidstrom who has been an iron man for that franchise. Niklas Kronwall is a stupendous defenseman and, in my opinion, the league's best and cleanest hitter (yes, both). Acquiring Kyle Quincey was a great move. Quincey is highly underrated and now he's back with an organization that he's rather familiar with. Add in Brad Stuart and Ian White and you're looking at a pretty intimidating bunch.

EDGE: There's no question that Weber is the best defenseman playing in the series and the fact that he lines with Suter isn't fair. But Detroit has the better defense in my opinion. All 6 defensemen are all well qualified and talented in their position and their strength as a unit is unmatched. Nashville just doesn't have the depth there.

GOALIES: 

Fact: no goalie has played more games in the NHL this year than Nashville's Pekka Rinne. Rinne was my prediction for this year's Vezina Trophy winner, and although he probably won't qualify, he still had a pretty darn good year. He's been among the best in the world at the position for the last few years and his attitude is remarkable. He never gives up on a play and his build (6' 5", 209 lbs) is perfect for the position. He's tremendously flexible and has one of the sharpest gloves in the league. Also, he's one of the best puck handling goalies in the league. I've noted before about my admiration for a goalie who can play the puck. He leads all goalies this year with 5 assists and it's something that can truthfully help his team out. Now he's never played this many games in a season (73), and people are concerned about his stamina, specifically if they make a long run for the Cup. But nothing legitimately shows that he is slowing down. Numbers: 43 wins, GAA 2.39, SV% .923, 5 shutouts.

The Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard had another solid season. He's slowly been making himself a legitimately top netminder in the league. This year he was slowed down by an injury but still finished with some really good numbers. He doesn't get as much respect in the league but definitely deserves it. He's been a driving force for the Wings and can be a shutdown goalie on random nights. Numbers: 35 wins, GAA 2.13, SV% .920, 6 shutouts.

EDGE: Pekka Rinne is simply too good for me to not pick Nashville here. Rinne has played like a top goalie in the league all season long. He always gives Nashville the chance to win and is the reason Nashville has home ice.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Guess who had the best powerplay percentage in the NHL this season? No not Pittsburgh, Philly, or Boston, And no not Detroit either. Nashville had the best powerplay in the NHL this year converting on 21.6% of their chances. Of course that is thanks to Suter and Weber who are great puck handlers who can also fire the puck on net. Combined they have 47 powerplay points. Weber leads the team with 10 powerplay goals and Suter has a solid 3. Patrick Hornqvist and rookie Craig Smith also help out a lot on the man advantage. Nashville, being a good defensive team, was also solid on the kill being 10th in the league.

Detroit was somehow nowhere to be seen on the powerplay chart. They were pretty bad this year. So bad that even Carolina had a better percentage than them. Things just have not been clicking for them this year and they're going to have to come up with something if they want to score off of this strong penalty kill. Speaking of penalty kill, the Red Wings were also weak in that department. Special teams have not been the strong suit for this team and they are begging that the refs will stay out of this series.

EDGE: All Nashville here. Better kill. Better powerplay.

CONCLUSION: The Predators will battle pretty hard this year for a chance to win the Cup. They got a taste of it last year when they finally got to the second round but they will be looking for more this year. Weber and Suter are going to play about 30 minutes a night and the offense will be ever so pesty. Their defense will be strong and Rinne will most likely hold off Detroit's offense.

PREDICTION: PREDATORS IN 6 GAMES

Note: stick tap to dailyfaceoff.com for supplying starting rosters and stuff. Pretty sick site.