2 Bruins vs. 7 Capitals: PREDICTION

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!!!!!

EAST

2. Boston Bruins vs. 7. Washington Capitals

Washington won regular season series 3 games to 1

Like I said with several other series, this is one that has the lower seed beating the higher seed in the regular season series. Unlike some of the other series, this was not a series where the team that won dominated the series. So I don't feel that it's that Washington matches up well with them or that they have an advantage against them. I think here the series score doesn't reflect either teams' chances this round.

Boston has had an up and down season after winning the Cup last year. At one point they were literally unbeatable. But at other points they were mediocre. Boston has been playing very good hockey as of late and are entering the playoffs looking good. They've given nights off to key players also so the team should be well rested going in.

The Capitals have had a lousy season. They fired their coach and superstar Alex Ovechkin hasn't quite been himself either. Their big goalie signing had a pedestrian season and they were also plagued with injuries throughout the year. So it's that type of year for the Capitals. They had to play well in the last month, and although they didn't make the playoffs by much, they still almost overtook Florida for the top seed in the Southeast Division.

Either way, this should be an interesting series filled with physicality, big goals, and many, many terrible jokes about Tim Thomas showing up to Washington.

OFFENSE:

Boston is underratedly one of the best offensive teams in the league. Their lines all have feisty physical players who can just as likely deke out an entire opposing roster as they are to score a physical goal right in front. Surprisingly, Boston doesn't have a single thirty goal scorer yet they are still 3rd in the league in goal scoring. Their highest scorer is Tyler Seguin with 29. Besides for him they have guys like Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic, and Chris Kelley. I really like their line combinations and I feel bad for anyone who has to play this team.

Usually Washington has an explosive offense but this year was different because A: Alex Ovechkin didn't play like a beast B: Alex Semin didn't play too hot either C: Nicklas Backstrom only played 42 games because of injuries. There were other reasons but those 3 have really taken a toll on the team. This team does have the ability to be the juggernaut that they usually are but they'll need major turnarounds. Backstrom is FINALLY ready to play after missing much of the end of the season. Brooks Laich, after guaranteeing a playoff spot, played like the team's MVP down the stretch and I'm positive his gutsy play will continue into the playoffs. But they'll need all their forwards to get involved. Joel Ward hasn't lived up to his potential. Neither has Troy Brouwer. But if the Capitals can get everyone going, they'll have four powerful lines to play with. 

EDGE: Easy choice. The Bruins are not matched by many teams offensively and they're truly a scoring a machine. True, when they've played poorly, they looked awful. But at this point I'm positive everyone will start clicking. Look for Seguin to continue his successful Sophomore season and have a playoffs similar to last years.

DEFENSE:

I really like the Caps' defenseman this year and now that Mike Green has been able to play more than 10 games straight without breaking, they finally look pretty strong defensively. They really missed Green throughout the year (as did my fantasy team) and his return, like Backstrom's, could be perfect timing for the Capitals. Besides for Green, they have John Carlson and Dennis Seidman who have both played very well. Washington is a great shot blocking team.

Boston's defense is a solid crew. I think they took a big step down from last year's squad and they may be missing two players by the start of the playoffs (Adam McQuaid and Johnny Boychuk). I don't necessarily think Andrew Ference is too great and the Mike Mottau-Joe Corvo line combination doesn't seem too strong either. But they still have Zdeno Chara. So that's a plus.

EDGE: I'll give this one to the Capitals. I think they're deeper defensively and are more dependable than Boston's crew. They had to be strong all year due to the lack of offense and goaltending and they did well under those conditions. Now they seem to be at their best going into the playoffs and that could be big for Washington.

GOALIES: 

We'll start with Boston because it's an easy topic to cover. First let's compare him to last year's Tim Thomas. 20 more goals against, 172 less saves, and 4 less shutouts. But at least he's still got the same great mustache. But although the numbers don't quite matchup, he's still been one of the best goalies in hockey. I don't have a question that he'd be just as good in the playoffs as he was last year. Numbers: 35 wins, GAA 2.36, .920 SV%, 5 shutouts

There are not many sadder stories than that of the Washington Capitals 2012 goalie situation. First they signed one of the most underrated goalies in the NHL (Tomas Vokoun) in the offseason after going several years without having a legitimate backstop in time for the playoffs. Then Vokoun started out and sucked. Then Semyon Varlamov (goalie who they traded at trade deadline) had a good season in Colorado. Now, just when goalie Michal Neuvirth started making progress as the starter, he got injured. So right now, Vokoun is injured AND Neuvirth is injured. Neuvirth is reportedly close to a return but they are still unsure of when. So right now it's all Braden Holtby for the Caps. Holtby has been up and down going back and forth from the Hershey Bears and the Capitals. His NHL career numbers (in a minuscule 21 games) are .929 SV% and a 2.02 GAA which is solid. People believe in him. He has had bad games in the NHL but has truly shown potential and people feel he can prove himself in these playoffs. He did win the Calder Cup in Hershey for the AHL championship. Washington is hoping he can bring his clutch AHL playoff performance to the NHL. Or at least until Neuvirth is good to go. (P.S. Someone should tell Lucic that he's one goalie run away from making Dany Sabourin the starting goalie for Washington...Food for though.)

EDGE: The Bruins have the advantage here. If you don't know why, read what I wrote about Washington's goalies. If you still don't understand, then that's a problem.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Literally not much separates these teams on special teams. Their powerplay's are extremely similar. Between the two big shots from the point I give the upper hand to Boston (Chara over Green) and of course Washington gets the upper hand just for having Ovechkin on the ice. But there honestly isn't much difference between both teams in this area. 

On the kill, they are also both right along with each other. Both teams were pretty decent this year killing the penalties. Obviously goaltending will play a huge roll and with that Boston has the advantage. But there still isn't too much of a difference between the two teams. The only big difference is that Boston commits a TON more penalties than Washington does. I've said it on my blog before, Boston is one of the least disciplined teams in the league. So if Washington needs a spark for a chance to pull off the upset, they need to click on the powerplays.

EDGE: I'll have to just say even on this. Both teams are extremely similar in this area and it should be evenly matched.

CONCLUSION: After just getting into the playoffs, the Capitals are a bit optimistic and energized. But I really don't see them putting much of a fight against the experienced Boston team who just won a year ago. Washington isn't too much connected right now and although the return of Green and Backstrom might make things interesting, I don't see this series going too long. I don't think Boston should have too much trouble.

PREDICTION: BRUINS IN 5 GAMES

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