So after a very exciting opening round of the NHL playoffs, which included 3 game sevens and 17 overtime games, I realized that I was correct on all of my projections. So let's see what the second round looks like.
Eastern Conference
Penguins over the Senators. This could be a very interesting series. Ottawa is feisty and play a style that can throw Pittsburgh off of its game. I'm picking the Pens just because the amount of talent on their roster. There are a lot of other factors that could play into this series. The Pens have major issues in the net. Marc-Andre Fleury was benched for Tomas Vokoun. I'm not real sure that Vokoun is a goalie that you want to rely on, but Fleury has no confidence right now. It will also be interesting to see if all-star center, Jason Spezza makes his return to the Ottawa lineup. He missed most of the season with a back injury. For Ottawa, the player to watch is Chris Neil. He is the meanest player on the ice and will be the main player attempted to get under the skin of the Penguin stars. For the Pens, Kris Letang controls the defense and the power play.
Bruins over the Rangers. This will be a physical series. New York has the best goalie in the league in Henrik Lundquist, but Boston has a solid defense as well. The Bruins have three strong scoring lines that play a different style. The Rangers struggled with their scoring in the opening round (game 7 excluded). The top forwards on the Rangers were near invisible. The player to watch for the Bruins is Milan Lucic. He is a force in front of the net and he will hit anyone he gets close to. For the Rangers, Derek Broussard was by far their best player in the opening round. He is one of those players that is okay during the regular season and then turns it on for the playoffs.
Western Conference.
Blackhawks over the Red Wings. As much as it hurt me to type this, Chicago is just too talented for Detroit to handle. The Blackhawks swept the regular season matchup, though all but one game was close and the Red Wings have greatly improved since then. The Red Wings could give them a nice run, but will need some players to really step up and play better -- I'm looking at you, Valteri Filppula, Kyle Quincey and Brenden Smith. The players to watch in this series are the captains, Henrik Zetterberg for the Wings and Jonathan Toews for the Hawks. Both are classy players who are dangerous on offense and play great defense.
Kings over the Sharks. This was the hardest series to pick, because it was tough to determine how tough the first round opponents really were. San Jose destroyed the Vancouver Canucks and swept them. Los Angeles lost their first two games and then won 4 in a row to beat the St. Louis Blues. The Sharks tend to disappear in the playoffs and the Kings are the defending champs. The player to watch for the Sharks is Logan Couture. He has a ton of offensive skill and can change a game in an instant. For the Kings, Anze Kopitar was deadly in the playoffs last year. Now that the Kings have advanced past the clutching and grabbing Blues team, look for Kopitar to get a little more space and make a difference.
Time to sit back and enjoy the second round. See you in the conference finals. Let's go Red Wings!!!
~Brad
