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.
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