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.

2 Blues vs. 7 Sharks: 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

2. St. Louis Blues vs. 7. San Jose' Sharks

St. Louis won regular season series 4 games to 0

Fact: Whoever is reading this, no matter who you are or where you're from, you probably underrate the St. Louis Blues. The team tied with the 2nd most points in the NHL. The team that's the 1 seed in one of the most difficult divisions. The team with the least amount of goals given up. 

Ya, that team.

So you might be wondering, "How good can this St. Louis team be?" Well the answer is pretty damn good. They have 2 of the best goalies in the league. That enabled their offense to get away with being the 21st ranked team in the league. But that doesn't mean that they can't score. Their consistent, timely goal scoring has been the perfect dose for their team. It seems like an iffy way to be one of the best teams in the league, but...well they're one of the best teams in the league.

Much like Los Angeles, the Sharks just scrambled into the playoffs. They played desperation hockey for the last couple of weeks and stopped at nothing to make sure they got in. Even if that meant bending some of the rules. But at the end of the day, they're here and that's all that matters.

OFFENSE:

The Sharks have been average offensively this year. Their big guys were on and off (with the exception of Joe Pavelski who literally gave it his all night in and night out) and they lacked secondary scoring. Logan Couture had a very nice season and so did Patrick Marleau. Jumbo Joe Thornton showed up every now and then and he ended up finishing as the leading scorer for San Jose'. The Sharks are going to rely on A: 3rd and 4th line to actually get things going offensively and B: all their stars to chip in. The Sharks have the talent to be mighty fine offensively but some of the Sharks are known to disappear come playoff time (am I right Jeremy Roenick?). Also, the Sharks just don't matchup well with St. Louis. After all, in the 4 losses against them this season, they've only been able to score 3 goals.

The Blues, like I said above, are not the team to overwhelm you offensively. They only have three players with over 50 points and one of them is a defenseman. But they still have guys throughout their lineup who have the ability to score a big goal. Guys like David Perron and T.J. Oshie are guys who are not well known but still very formidable offenseman. The Blues are just about filled with players like that. If you put the St. Louis roster in a hat and pick out names one at a time, I can honestly envision each name being able to score a big goal for the Blues (alright all except for Ryan Reaves). But seriously. I like their depth and although they may be one of the most depressing offensive teams in the playoffs, they are still one of my favourites.

EDGE: As much as I respect St. Louis' forwards, the Sharks still have the better offense. Joe Pavelski has been marvelous all year long and Marleau and Thornton are both extremely good players. Their first 2 lines are sickening and although their is a tad bit of a dropoff to the next 2 lines, they are still powerful.

DEFENSE: 

I really like San Jose's defensive ability. Marc-Edouard Vlasic is one of the most underrated defensemen in the league. Brent Burns was a great acquisition last July and Douglas Murray brings something to the table also. They are all pretty much capable of adding some pop to the offense and they are all strong defensively. San Jose' is 5th in the league in blocked shots and that says something about the heart of their defensive core.

Much like St. Louis' forwards, their defenseman are mostly guys who are not so well known but they deserve respect. Alex Pietrangelo is a force who has 53 points on the year and is a great defensive player. Same story with Kevin Shattenkirk. These guys fit so well into the Blue's system and they have blossomed into well rounded players. So have the other defensemen on the team (for the most part). Like I said earlier, the Blues have allowed the least amount of goals in the NHL and these defensemen had something to do with it.

EDGE: I'll give this one to San Jose' because of the big names on their defense. It's a very slight edge but I don't think the Dmen on St. Louis can match the skill of guys like Dan Boyle or Brent Burns. It's very close but you can't ignore the Sharks here.

GOALIES:

I'll start with the Sharks here because it's a bit simple. Antti Niemi had a rough year. He was simply miserable in the month of February. He could play better. We've all seen him play better. With Chicago he was brilliant on the road to winning the Stanley Cup. Last year he also showed strong play for San Jose'. But the Sharks will really need him to shine if they want to win. Numbers: 34 wins, GAA 2.42, SV% .915, 6 shutouts.

So the St. Louis Blues have two of the best goalies in the NHL. Brian Elliot, after being a major disappointment in Ottawa, just showed up for the Blues and was remarkable. He has several SOY (Save of the Year) candidates and has been lights out. The other goalie, former Montreal playoff savior, Jaroslav Halak, saw his numbers improve drastically from a year ago. Everything seems to be going great for these two and it's almost impossible for St. Louis to have to pick a starter between them. Sure, Halak was the "starting goalie" all year but Elliot clearly had the better numbers. But then Brian Elliot got injured. So the word on the block is Halak will start game 1 (confirmed) and then he will go on a run from there. Sure Elliot had the better stats but Halak's stats were still amongst the top 10 best in the league. So it looks like it'll be Halak but whoever went for the Blues would have been fine. Here are those goalies' numbers: Ellliot: 23 wins (in 36 starts), GAA 1.56, SV% .940, 9 shutouts. Halak: 26 wins (in 46 starts), GAA 1.97, SV% .926, 6 shutouts.

EDGE: Not even a question. The Blues goaltending this year has been phenomenal. It's a shame that the Sharks only have the third best goalie in the series. Niemi is capable of being great, but he was shaky this year and this season has been fantastic for St. Louis goaltenders.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

It's the tale of two teams here. The Sharks are great on the powerplay and terrible on the kill. The Blues are great on the kill and mediocre on the powerplay.

The Sharks' powerplay is explosive. They are ranked as the 2nd best PP unit in the league. Their big boys are all out and with the man advantage it's very difficult to stop. On the kill, however, they've been pathetic. They had the second worst killing percentage in the NHL. However, they aren't highly undisciplined (the 2nd to fewest minor penalties in the NHL) so if they are able to stay out of the box, that'd be a huge advantage for them.

The Blues penalty kill has been very good this year. They kill off 85% of their penalties. But St. Louis is also one of the highest penalized teams in the league. I was shocked to see that but the Blues do commit a ton of penalties. So although their kill is good, they can't allow San Jose's strong powerplay to get extra chances. The Blues powerplay isn't too great. They're around the middle of the league in powerplay scoring which isn't good considering they need help offensively. They do need more offense so if they can get their powerplay going (featuring Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk at the points) then they may be in good shape.

EDGE: I'll call this one even. Both teams are great at one aspect of the "Special Teams" category while they are ineffective in the other. San Jose' does have a slight advantage given St. Louis' penalty box trouble but San Jose's kill is downright awful.

SIDENOTE: If I ignored one aspect of the Blue's game, I'd be doing them a disservice. In the first 16 games of the season, the Blues were a mere 7-8-1. They weren't playing very well and they needed a change. So the Blues fired head coach (as ESPN put very nicely) Davis Payne and found the best man they could find. Coach Ken Hitchcock. Hitchcock not only coached the Blues to the 2 seed in the West, he made a system for them that perfectly fits every part of the team. Every aspect of the Blues defensive minded system clicked and all of a sudden they were winning games left and right. This is 100% what has been fueling this St. Louis team and this is why I (and many others) think so highly of them. I definitely consider this an advantage for them in the playoffs.

CONCLUSION: Well the Sharks have to prove that they aren't just going to choke again so they have that motivation. They will really need to be motivated though in order to beat the Blues. The Blues paralyzing defensive system has been causing damage all year to teams like San Jose'. They counter the goal scorers well with good defensive forwards (David Backes for example is one of the best defensive forward in the game and he has a chance of winning the Selke for his defensive contributions all season long in St. Louis). I think St. Louis will have just enough offense to win this series out but San Jose' won't make it easy.

PREDICTION: BLUES IN 7 GAMES

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

1 Canucks vs. 8 Kings: 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

1. Vancouver Canucks vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings

Regular season series (essentially) tied 2-2

Alright everybody. The Canucks are back in the 1 seed (called it) and are poised to make another run for the Cup. So board up your shop windows and take shelter cuz the fans are taking nothing less than the Cup.

This year the Canucks have everything to prove. They have an extremely similar team to last year's squad and yes, that's a good thing. Goalie Roberto Luongo responded well to and bounced back after taking abuse for his efforts in last year's Stanley Cup Finals. But this year they have Cory Schneider who'll play a big role for the Canucks (more on that later). 

The Kings had a bumpy ride and they were finally able to break through into the playoffs. They did lose their top seed in the Pacific Conference on the last day of the season but I'm positive they are happy to be there. They have their work cut out for them now and it'll be a long path to the top.

OFFENSE: 

Last year, Vancouver finished tops in almost every category. It's not quite the same story this season but they're still pretty damn good. They were top 5 in the league in scoring and, once again, they maintain pretty much the same roster as last year. They took a hit when Daniel Sedin got a concussion but he has been working out and they say he should be back early in this series. Daniel was out for the last 9 games of the season and although the Canucks won 8 of those 9, I'm sure they'd love to have him back ASAP. It helped that guys like Chris Higgins, Alex Burrows, and Ryan Kesler had great years and the Sedin twins played like we all thought they would. This year the defenseman got more involved also and guys like Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler chipped in throughout the season. So Vancouver isn't quite the offensive juggernaut they were last year but, once again, they're still pretty damn good.

The Kings were deprived offensively this season. Nobody really stepped up and it left them 2nd to last in the league in goals (yes, worse than Columbus AND the Islanders). Anze Kopitar had his career low in goals and didn't receive much help from guys like Dustin Brown and Mike Richards. Signing Jeff Carter didn't work out THAT well either so right now the Kings have no idea where their scoring is going to come from. They definitely have some potential. If Kopitar and Brown suddenly catch fire, it'll be a bad situation for Vancouver. But there is no sign that is bound to happen.

EDGE: The Canucks clearly have the edge here. Not many teams are better offensively than them, especially not a team who scored fewer goals than Columbus.

DEFENSE:

Los Angeles is solid defensively. Drew Doughty has been solid for the most part this year. Also, rookie defenseman Slava Voynov has opened some eyes also as he played very well. Defense isn't particularly a strength of theirs but they weren't awful this year. They need to do a bit more shot blocking as Jonathan Quick had to face a ton of shots this season.

Vancouver literally has the same defenseman as last year. They are all fully talented and are pretty much all great two way players. I literally do not have many bad things to say about this core. They have improved since last year and look really strong. They should definitely help this team out in playoffs.

EDGE: The Canucks have the better defensemen of the two teams. All year they have been playing great defense while contributing legitimately well on offense.

GOALIES: 

We'll start with Los Angeles due to convenience. At about the halfway point in the season, if you asked anybody who was going to win the Vezina Trophy for league's best goalie, they'd all say "Henrik Lundqvist". Well Jonathan Quick's play in the last couple of months in the season may change that answer. Quick literally got the Kings into the playoffs because of his stellar play. After playing pretty decently all year, his game just erupted into awesomeness and, like I said, is the primary reason I'm writing about the Kings at this point. If you had him on your fantasy team, then you know what I'm talking about. His play was unparalleled in the final couple of months of the year and this will for sure carry over into the playoffs. Numbers: 35 wins, GAA 1.95, SV% .929, 10 shutouts (league highest)

There are not too many story lines going into the playoffs that are more interesting than that of Vancouver's goalie situation. We all remember Roberto Luongo's bipolar performance in the playoffs last year (pretty good, giving up bad goals, and then holy crap he gave up 8 goals to the Bruins). Well this year he's poised to be the starting goalie going into the playoffs. Except this time, NHL ready, backup goalie, Cory Schneider is very likely to get some playing time. Schneider subbed in some for Luongo in last year's playoffs and this season he played 28 games for them. His numbers (20 wins, GAA 1.96, SV% .937) were phenomenal (better than Luongo's) and there are a lot of Vancouver fans (unfortunately, mostly bandwagoners) who feel he deserves the starting gig. Now I find that ridiculous. Luongo WAS their captain a short 2 years ago and he still is a leader on this team. He's proven his skill level (gold medal, back-to-back Presidents Trophy winner) and there's not a doubt in my mind that he should be starting for the Canucks this postseason. But I do feel there's a chance that they may throw in Schneider every now and then. And obviously if Luongo has 1 somewhat bad game there'll be Vancouver fans yelling for his head. So if he does have a mediocre game, I wouldn't be surprised if they put in Schneider. But other than that, it's all Luuuuuuu. (Luongo) Numbers: 31 wins, GAA 2.41, SV% .919, 5 shutouts.

EDGE: Jonathan Quick gives the edge to the Kings. This isn't at all saying that Luongo isn't good. I still have faith in him and think he'll be great in the playoffs. But there's no chance Quick is not A: the hottest goalie going into the playoffs and B: his team will desperately need him to stay that way. And I don't see why he won't be just as good for the playoffs.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

The Canucks are so dominant on both the penalty kill and on the powerplay where they are ranked 6th and 4th respectively. On the powerplay they take what they are usually good at (in this case, hockey) and are given the opportunity to be better. And then on the kill, a combination of great defense (see above) and solid goalkeeping has done them well. I've said it many times, this team is similar to last year's team (aka the team that had the best powerplay AND the best penalty kill in the league).

The Kings, like the Canucks, are also superb on the penalty kill. However, their lack of offense this season is partially because of their sub-par powerplay. Their powerplay does have some good weapons (e.g. Kopitar, Richards, Doughty, etc.) but they have not produced as well as anyone would have expected. Their numbers have been average with the man advantage but average simply won't be enough against a great kill like Vancouver's

EDGE: Vancouver again shows why they're such a good team. Special teams is crucial in the postseason and they are set up well with the crews that they have.

CONCLUSION: So the Canucks should be able to control most of the game against a team like Los Angeles who are trying to find their game now. And then Jonathan Quick will happen. He'll undoubtedly steal a game or two away and make this a series. But Vancouver's offense and timely goaltending will be too overwhelming for the Kings to play with.

PREDICTION: CANUCKS IN 6 GAMES

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

4 Penguins vs. 5 Flyers: 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!!!!!

EAST

4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5. Philadelphia Flyers

Philadelphia won regular season series 4-2

This is easily the most intriguing first round matchup in the East. These two teams are familiar with each other and every time they play theirs always some bad blood. Things especially heated up in their game on April 1st when they had a huge brawl in which even the coaches got involved. That definitely got everyone excited for this series. Then they faced each other several days later on the last day of the season. So let's just say they know each other by now.

Their intensity hopefully does not shadow the great hockey that will be played in this series. The Penguins and the Flyers finished 1st and 2nd (respectively) in the entire league in scoring. Both teams are highly experienced with playoff hockey. This is certainly going to be one hell of a series.

OFFENSE:

Like I said, these were the top two offensive teams in the league. We'll start here with the Penguins who have the Art Ross Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin (109 points). Malkin has been unstoppable (called it) and showed everyone his injury problem was not so big. He had to carry his team without Sidney Crosby and did a fine job doing that. He had help though as James Neal, after doing 0 for the Penguins last year, finally proved his worth and had very good numbers at the end of the year (40 goals, 41 assists). These two players were sick all year. And then Sidney Crosby came back. Crosby chipped in 37 points in his 22 games and opened up the games of guys like Pascal Dupuis and Steve Sullivan. Throw in Matt Cooke's solid season and a couple of other solid secondary scorers, and you have yourself a pretty damn good hockey team.

The Flyers players were streaky all year. Jaromir Jagr was very good at times in his return to the NHL and Philly received nice help from Scotty Hartnell. When Claude Giroux wasn't injured, all he did was beast it up and he ended the year with 93 points in just 77 games. But the Flyers are a bit deeper than Pittsburgh I feel. Danny Briere has yet to ignite offensively and they have guys like Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds who have been adding timely scoring all year. They have 4 full lines of offense who I feel can all cause damage (and this is without injured forward James van Riemsdyk).

EDGE: I'm giving this to the Flyers. I just feel that the Flyers have more depth. The Penguins I feel can't simply match the same amount of scorers Philly has and although Malkin, Crosby, and Neal are all top 10 forwards in the league, it won't necessarily help if they aren't given any secondary scoring.

DEFENSE:

The Flyers have been in trouble defensively this year especially after Captain Chris Pronger was announced out for the year back in November. Unfortunately, nothing has changed since. Pronger was their leader and they had trouble replacing him (I mean Nicklas Grossman isn't THAT good). Kimmo Timonen is a solid player though and he's made a good pair with Matt Carle. But Philly's D just isn't that strong and they definitely have holes in them.

Pittsburgh's defense, on the other hand, looks very strong on paper. Brooks Orpik has had a nice year and Kris Letang has really proven to be a great defenseman. Then comes, in my opinion, one of the most underrated players in the league. Paul Martin has to be one of the most well rounded defenseman in the NHL. He quietly shuts down top forwards night in and night out. He doesn't have a demanding physical presence and doesn't score too much either. But there honestly aren't too many great defenseman who get as little attention as Martin. And for some reason Penn fans don't like him too much either.

EDGE: I feel that Pittsburgh has the defensive crew to get things done. In a tight series I think they'll hold together and play better than Philly's unit. I find Pittsburgh's Dmen better in their own zone and offensively also.

GOALIES:

For Pittsburgh, it's been a shaky season for Marc-Andre Fleury. He started out a little weak but really improved throughout the middle of the season. But by the end of the year he started playing bad hockey again (and enabled me to win in a fantasy league (he was the other team's goalie)). In the last week of the season, Fleury was 0-3, had a 5.31 GAA, and a SV% of only .788. That's not very good. Thankfully, his regular season stats were not as awful. Overall, it was pretty much an orthodox year for him. But his play down the stretch might concern some. I feel that it was just a phase. He's won a Stanley Cup and I'm certain he'll get into a groove once the playoffs start. It's what Penguins fans expect of him. Numbers: 42 wins, GAA 2.36, SV% .913, 3 shutouts.

Well the Flyer's goaltending situation has been a conundrum for the last few years. It came to a point where we just expected their to be a carousel of netminders for them come playoff time. But this year was supposed to be different. They paid top dollar for a legitimate starting goalie and expected him to carry them to the promise land. But Ilya Bryzgalov, aside from entertaining the hockey world with his observations, did nothing for the Flyers. He was miserable for the first half of the season and was punished by not playing in the Winter Classic. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky did a very good job playing instead of Bryzgalov. Eventually Bryzgalov started playing fantastic hockey and that lasted several weeks. So at this point, people assume Bryzgalov will start, but there has still not been official word on the matter. But I think Ilya has overcome a lot this season and he has more motivation now to quiet his critics. Numbers: 33 wins, GAA 2.48, SV% .909, 6 shutouts (yes those are his numbers thanks to his incredible stretch of games at one point where he was lights out. But these numbers don't reflect the type of season he's been having).

EDGE: The Penguins have the edge here. Fleury has proven himself to be one of the best netminders in the world. Whether or not Bryzgalov shows up, we all can assume Fleury will bring his A game which is always tough to top. In a close series like this, a goalie like Mar-Andre Fleury can make all the difference.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Philly leads the league in powerplay goals. By a lot. The players they have out there are all so good at what they need to do. Giroux can snap one in from anywhere, Hartnell and Simmonds can both create traffic down low, and Kimmo Timonen can quarterback the powerplay and take blasts from the point. Philly also leads the league in powerplay opportunities (thanks to their fans, I'm sure) and they do a lot with their chances. However, Philly is also the most penalized team in the league. I'll get to how good Pittsburgh is on their powerplay in a moment, but Philly cannot just give them chances. They have to do a better job of playing disciplined hockey. And that's a lesson they have to learn fast. There penalty kill isn't THAT solid either so dumb penalties might be their downfall.

Pittsburgh is right up there with the best powerplays in the league. Their first powerplay unit is Malkin-Crosby-Neal-Kunitz-Letang. The skill in those 5 alone is remarkable. But all of them on the ice together, especially one at least one of them is guaranteed to be open at any point, is just scary. The damage they can do is remarkable. They'll have plenty of chances against Philly, the most penalized team in the league. And just because Pittsburgh has to be good at literally everything, they are ranked as the 3rd best penalty killing team in the NHL. 

EDGE: Pittsburgh again. Although Philly has the most powerplay goals in the NHL, Pittsburgh has a better powerplay percentage. Also Pitt will undoubtedly have more chances on the PP and they have a better kill anyway. Easy choice.

CONCLUSION: This will be the closest played series in the first round. The pride of Pennsylvania is on the line and both teams will stop at nothing to win this one. Expect to see a lot of chippy play with a plethora of hits. If you want to see hockey at it's finest watch this series. You'll see big hits, sick saves, gorgeous goals, and who knows, maybe we'll even see Crosby fight. But I think the fact that Fleury is better than any goalie Philly uses and the deadly powerplay of Pittsburgh, it should be somewhat predictable who'll win this.

PREDICTION: PENGUINS IN 7 GAMES

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

3 Panthers vs. 6 Devils: 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!!!!!

EAST

3. Florida Panthers vs. 6. New Jersey Devils

Regular season series (essentially) tied 2-2

note: I am a Devils fan so I may be biased a bit while writing this. Sorry

I'm not gonna lie. The Panthers did cause some headaches against the Devils this year. The Devils had no answer to Florida's first line and they wreaked havoc on the Devils in all four games. Florida even accounted for one of Jersey's worst losses of the season, blowing a 3 goal lead after the first period. So the Devils NEED to find a way to counter Florida's first line of forwards.

Going into the playoffs, the Devils are the hottest team in hockey and are on a tear winning their last 6 games. Not so much with Florida who limped into the playoffs JUST avoiding losing the 1 seed in the southeast to Washington.

One added motivation for New Jersey is that Devil's coach, Pete DeBoer (whom veteran Patrik Elias declared as the "best coach" he's played under) was fired by Florida at the end of last season. The Devils have said before each game against Florida that they felt motivated to back their coach up. Now although DeBoer claims that it's not on his mind at this point, the players still feel they need to win this one for coach.

One more point, this is Florida's first playoff appearance since 2000 (where they were, ironically, swept by the Devils en route to a Stanley Cup). Last year with Tampa we saw how loyal fans in the Sunshine State could be. I am positive that Panther fans will impress us all the same. Just watch out for rats (which I'm sure will make appearances).

OFFENSE:

Literally all you need to do is read this to know about the Devils team this year. But I will paint the picture here anyway. I talked about how well the Devils offense has played recently. They have not lost a game in which they scored less than 2 goals since a 3-0 loss to Philadelphia on March 13th. Needless to say they have all been clicking. Center Travis Zajac is finally healthy and is centering the line of Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise. The Devils have also been blesssed with three different 30 goal scorers, Kovalchuk, Parise, and David Clarkson. Patrik Elias is enjoying a lovely season in his late years and Petr Sykora is having a positive year since not playing in the league last season. So right now things are looking very good for the Devils' offense.

Florida has been by the bottom of the league in scoring for a while now. They are extremely first-line dependent and have been missing secondary scoring for much of the year. Lucky for them, their first line is perhaps one of the best in hockey. Tomas Fleischmann, Stephen Weiss (a draft pick by Florida nine years ago), and Kris Versteeg. In all that line has 7 goals against the Devils in their 4 games against each other and Versteeg has an incredible 5 of them. In fact, that line has 35% of all Florida goals this year. So if Florida has a prayer to advance, it's if guys like Sean Bergenheim, Scottie Upshall, and Tomas Kopecky figure into the scoring.

EDGE: The Devils have the edge here. Jersey has 4 lines who could supply offense and Florida will be relying on their first line all game.

DEFENSE:

I kind of like Florida's defensive players this season. Brian Campbell was a nice pick up for them and guys like Jason Garrison and Dmitry Kulikov also have surprised a lot of people. Their play has gone down a bit as the season dragged on but they can probably pick up their play come playoff time. 

The Devils have a good problem right now as they have 7 defenseman who can easily play in the playoffs for them. First round draft pick Adam Larsson, who has played for most of the regular season, has set 7 out of their last 8 games and rookie defenseman Peter Harrold has done a fantastic job in his place. One of the reasons so many people like Harrold is because of the offensive upside he brought to the table. Exhibit A. But it's also that Larsson, although he still looked poised with the puck on his stick, was making a lot of bad decisions with it. I personally feel the Devils should shut him down for the season. After all, the other 5 defenseman have been fine.

EDGE: Giving the Devils this one also. They have a slight advantage mainly because of the Turnover issue that the Florida Dmen have been having. Florida has the 4th most giveaways in the league and it's a bad habit they have down there. Watch as the Devils take advantage with their heavy forecheck.

GOALIES:

For the Devils this may be veteran netminder, Martin Brodeur's last chance for a run at the cup. In his 20th season in the league, he put up some pretty good numbers and occasionally looked marvelous. But he has definitely slowed down over the years. He has not won a playoff series since 2007 and for some reason the Devils still felt it was appropriate for him to start in pretty much every game towards the end of the season. I have the feeling he may get a bit fatigued come playoff time. It's not even a question that backup goalie Johan Hedberg has had a better season than Marty but there's a 0% chance Hedberg will see the ice in the playoffs (besides for an injury or a blowout). So Marty has the ability to play well but there may be a bad goal here and there. Numbers: 31 wins, GAA 2.41, SV% .908, 3 shutouts.

We may see 2 different goalies play for Florida. Jose Theodore and Scott Clemmensen have somewhat been splitting the starts all year with Theodore starting a bit more frequently. Both enjoyed solid seasons for the Panthers. Now the word on the street is that Theodore will get the start for Florida but many are suspecting Clemmensen will see significant time throughout the series. First of all, the Panthers started Clemmensen in a must win game against Carolina in the last game in the season to secure the 1 seed in the southeast. Each goalie is qualified. Clemmensen is younger but Theodore is more experienced. I don't think either one would be that much different than the other in net. One thing to keep in mind though is that Clemmensen pretty much bailed the Devils out of a losing season a few years ago when he played for an injured Martin Brodeur and won 25 games and got the Devils the playoff spot. The Devils had no choice but to lose Clemmensen the next season. Ever since leaving the Devils, Clemmensen has put up great numbers against them. He is 4-0 with a 2.05 GAA and a .937 SV%. So I feel that he'll be the main man for Florida in this series. (Clemmensen) Numbers: (in 30 games) 14 wins, GAA 2.57, SV% .913, 1 shutout.

EDGE: I'll give this one to the Devils just based on the fact that A: it's Martin Brodeur who has the 2nd most playoff wins in NHL history and B: I'm a Devils fan. But still, if Clemmensen plays, he could potentially steal the show. Brodeur has been strong, specifically down the stretch, and I think he'll be rested enough to pull through here. This goalie matchup could be very close though and something we all should keep an eye on.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Florida's powerplay has been the tsrongest part of the team all year. They are the 7th best powerplay in the league and don't give up too many chances the other way. It's pretty much their first line offensively, Brian Campbell (49 assists on the year) and another random forward. They've been clicking til now and should help Florida's chances. Their kill hasn't been as good this season and have been very on and off. Their around the middle of the pack. Their a pretty disciplined team though so their penalty kill woes shouldn't be that much of an issue.

The Devils powerplay stats are a bit deceiving. At the beginning of the season the powerplay was horrid. Then they got Kurtis Foster and that opened up Kovalchuk's game. Now they've been superb with the man advantage. Marek Zidlicky was a great pickup and has been playing great defensively and also has done a fine job quarterbacking the powerplay unit. They've turned around their powerplay and they have had a powerplay goal in 5 of their last 6 games. Additionally, people will point to the shorthanded-goals-against category as the Devils gave up the most in the league (13) but they have not given one up for a long time now and that is partly because of Zidlicky's play. Also, the Devils set a record for the best Penalty kill percentage in NHL history. That means there was never a team that killed off penalties as effectively as New Jersey. They combine hard forechecking, using an active stick in passing lanes, and blocking shots to kill off their fair share of powerplays. They also led the league with 15 short handed goals for.

EDGE: This one is close but I'm giving this one to the Devils. They are good (right now) at every aspect of special teams. There has not been a fault in the special teams play for a couple of months now. Florida does not quite have the kill statistics for me to give them the nod here.

CONCLUSION: The Devils right now are arguably the hottest team in hockey and it's a shame that Florida was the team that had to play them in the first round. People will probably hop on the Panthers bandwagon because they're the team that hasn't been in the playoffs in over a decade. Florida surprised many people this year but they will be overwhelmed by New Jersey's depth and talent. They might take a game by the end of the series but I need at least one sweep prediction and this series seems appropriate for it.

PREDICTION: DEVILS IN 4 GAMES

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

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.

1 Rangers vs. 8 Senators: 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 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


1. New York Rangers vs. 8. Ottawa Senators
Ottawa won regular season series 3 games to 1

Well I noticed for several of the first round series, the high seeded team has a losing record against the lower seeded team. This does make things interesting going into the playoffs but in several cases, it should not reflect the outcome of some of the series.

Like this one for example.

Yes, the Senators played extremely well against the Rangers this year and matchup well with them also. Through their four game regular season series, Ottawa has outscored them 14-8 including a 3-0 win and a 4-1 win. So there's no question that Ottawa matches up well with them and aren't intimated by the first seed in the East.

Down the stretch, Ottawa played miserably. They dropped their last 3 and ended up in 8th place because of it. For the Rangers, it was also a mediocre finish as they almost lost their first seed in the Atlantic and then played just flat out awful in the last game of the season with the Presidents Trophy on the line.

OFFENSE:
Offensively, there's no doubt that Ottawa has been one of the best in the league. They are fourth in the league for goals per game Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson have been marvelous all year and Michalek has also played well. But if you ask (almost) any Ottawa fan who has been their best offensive threat all year, they'd say defenseman Erik Karlsson. He leads all NHL defensemen in goals and assists (19, 59) and has fueled Ottawa's offense this year. He's a wonderful skater and can really control the puck well. If Ottawa has any hope of winning, they need him to keep up his game into the playoffs.

For the Rangers, it's been another so-so year offensively. Bringing in Brad Richards wasn't as awesome as most Rangers expected him to be but he did have another solid year. The main spark came from Marian Gaborik as he had 41 goals and 35 assists. But the Rangers are going to need a lot more than just Gaborik, Richards and rookie sensation Carl Hagelin. If they can get players like Artem Anisimov and Derek Stepan going in the playoffs, they can really make a long run.

EDGE: I have to give Ottawa a slight edge based on their numbers this year. The Rangers are certainly capable of being the better team offensively but they have not showed it. If they can get those second/third line guys going then they will not have a problem.

DEFENSE:
The Rangers have been remarkable on defense this year. Their two young defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Michael Del Zotto have been great players and could easily go toe-to-toew with any of the best forwards in the league. Add Dan Girardi to the mix and it's almost unfair already. The Rangers need Marc Staal to be his old self again. After coming back mid-season from a concussion, he hasn't done too great. So far the other D-men have overshadowed his underachieving but he has got to get out of his little funk. The Rangers have the most hits in the league are fourth in the NHL in blocked shots and have been excellent in their own zone so not much to worry about for them this series on defense.

Ottawa has been alright on D this year. They've quietly put together a solid season there. Karlsson, along with his offensive surge, has been stellar on defense also. Together with Filip Kuba and Sergei Gonchar, they've been pretty solid. It's not one of their strengths but definitely not a weakness.

EDGE: Not a doubt in my mind the Rangers win this one. They have one of the best defenses in the league. It's not gonna be easy going up against the talented Ottawa offense but they've been playing great all year and it's for sure going to continue into the playoffs.

GOALIES:
We'll start with the Rangers just based on convenience. Henrik Lundqvist is certainly the best goalie in the NHL. I've seen games where he was lights out and he could honestly get a shut out on any given night. Throughout his career he has had to put up with weak Rangers teams and was still able to win pretty much on his own. This year he was given a good team so he put up stellar numbers and may easily win the Vezina Trophy (unless Jonathan Quick has anything to say about it). Additionally, the Rangers immensely lightened his load of regular season games this year so he should be well rested for the playoffs. Numbers: 39 wins, GAA 1.97, SV% .930, 8 shutouts

For Ottawa, it's Craig Anderson in net. Craig struggled at times but in the end put up some pretty good numbers. He's a goalie who can be lights out (51 save shutout  in the playoffs two years ago against the Sharks anyone?) and could steal a game or two every now and then. Numbers: 33 wins, GAA 2.84, SV% .914, 3 shutouts

EDGE: Not even a question here. The Rangers and King Henrik easily have this one.

SPECIAL TEAMS:
I'll say it straight out..The Rangers have one of the most disappointing powerplays in the league. With their star power, they should be a bit better than 23rd in the league with the man advantage. I doubt they'll change their ways come playoff time but they do need a fix. On the penalty kill the Rangers are pretty good and having a great goalie helps. But if they are given powerplays by Ottawa (and Oh how there will be powerplays), they need to find a way to capitalize.

I hinted to it above. Ottawa has committed the second most penalties in the league and although the Rangers aren't quite a powerplay-goal machine, being shorthanded does not really help. Ottawa also isn't so great on the penalty kill so they really have to smarten up and play disciplined hockey or they could get into a lot of trouble. Now the Rangers also commit their share of penalties and Ottawa has had a good powerplay all season long. If Ottawa has a chance of winning this series, look to their powerplay to get things done.

EDGE: The Senators have the edge here. The Rangers can commit a bit too many penalties and that may open the doors for Ottawa. The Rangers do have a great penalty kill but I think Ottawa has the ability to capitalize on stupid Ranger penalties.

CONCLUSION: So the Rangers have had trouble with them in the regular season but as everyone knows, the playoffs are completely different. The Rangers will win a couple of quick games. I can see Ottawa putting up a fight but Lundqvist will steal a game and officially kill the Senators season. It should be a physical series and hopefully a fun one to watch. But Rangers work ethic and tough hockey will win this one.



PREDICTION: RANGERS IN 6 GAMES



note: stick tap to dailyfaceoff.com for supplying starting roster and such. pretty sick site.