The first round of the NHL playoff is sure to whet many hockey fans’ appetites this year.
Before I get started, I have listed the first round matchups for reader convenience below:
EAST: New York Rangers (8) vs Washington Capitals (1), Buffalo Sabres (7) vs Philadelphia Flyers (2), Montreal Canadiens (6) vs Boston Bruins (3), Tampa Bay Lightning (5) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
WEST: Chicago Blackhawks (8, Defending Champs) vs Vancouver Canucks (1), LA Kings (7) vs San Jose Sharks (2), Phoenix Coyotes (6) vs Detroit Red Wings (3), Nashville Predators (5) vs Anaheim Ducks (4)
Because this is a primarily regional blog, I’m going to be covering all of the Eastern matchups, which will be particularly easy because all of the Eastern matchups are fantastic (more on that in a little bit). I will also offer a little insight into my thoughts on the western race too, and why it’s not really that important.
We’re starting with the West. The matchup to note here is definitely the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks who punched their playoff ticket on the last day after they… lost? Yes, the B’hawks controlled their own fate and couldn’t finish, but because the Dallas Stars couldn’t notch their last win either (and thus move over the Blackhawks into the eighth spot), Chicago retained their tenuous hold on a playoff bid. This Vancouver-Chicago matchup is of particular interest not because of this year’s regular season performance, but because of the previous two years’ postseason performance. This is the third year in a row that the Blackhawks and Canucks have faced each other in the first round of the NHL playoffs, with the Blackhawks prevailing both times. Now that Vancouver is finally the #1 seed, can they actually beat Chicago? Absolutely. Vancouver is not only this season’s President’s Trophy winner, they are far and away the best team in the Western Conference, and probably the best team in the entire league. The Western playoffs can fall any number of ways, but I think a Detroit-Vancouver matchup is inevitable with the grand prize being a bid for the Stanley Cup.
Now, for the East. If you are not a hockey fan and want to get into the sport, this is the year to watch some of the playoffs. Each matchup is not only good- each first round series will feature a unique aspect of hockey that will make it an extremely entertaining. Series by series, here we go:
Rangers at Capitals: Okay, we all know I’m ever so slightly biased here, but I do love the caps. This game will feature several crazy high scoring, high octane games. Honestly, I think the caps have once again drawn a pretty bad first round matchup as the Rangers have definitely had Washington’s number in the regular season. But the caps are going to hit their stride at just the right time, getting Mike Green back from a lengthy injury recovery along with a healthy Alex Ovechkin. The offense is fired up. The defense is maintaining a high level of intensity. The Rangers are not going to be any pushover, and I think New York takes this to seven games, and probably has an early 2-1 or possibly even 3-1 series lead. The series will almost definitely go to seven games. But in the end, I think Washington is too good at the right time and moves on to an ugly rivalry-type of second round playoff matchup against the lightning or the (expletive expletive) penguins.
Sabres at Flyers: This is your standard Scary Offense vs Incredible Defense matchup. The Flyers seem to run almost a blitzkrieg type of offense at times, that on a bad day is high scoring and on a good day is a high-speed death march. The answer? None other than born-and-bred American Ryan Miller, who rose to prominence in the 2010 Winter Olympics with his heroics in goal. When Miller is on, he is an absolute highlight reel, making saves that most people can’t even imagine is humanly possible. Buffalo has a solid lineup of goalies behind him, but frankly, everyone sucks when compared to Ryan Miller. Just my opinion, of course. That being said, Ryan Miller can’t do it all, and Buffalo’s offense isn’t reliable enough to outshoot the Flyers on a nightly basis. Philly in 6.
Canadiens at Bruins: Possibly the best first round matchup of the entire playoffs. This is bound to be a classic series between two physical teams and bitter rivals that hate each other. Expect a LOT of body checks, fights, etc. But don’t think the series will be without scoring too. Both squads have had strong finishes. Boston is probably the better team, but good goaltending on the Montreal side of things fairly close. There’s just something about this Canadiens team I like- maybe it’s just me mentally compensating for their inexplicable series win against the Caps last year, but I think this team plays their best hockey in the postseason. Look for Montreal to ride Carey Price into the second round of the playoffs- I’ll take the Canadiens in 7.
Lightning at Penguins: This series has a little bit of everything. Both teams are dominated by individual superstars, although Crosby may not be making an appearance at any point throughout the series. Both teams are battling uphill as their best hockey of the year is already way behind them. Most importantly, both teams have something to play for (besides the obvious) because, if seeding holds, the winner of this series will play the Washington capitals. Tampa has played some extremely competitive and fierce Southeast games against the Caps this year, and would surely salivate at the chance to get some more games against them. Penguins-Capitals, meanwhile, has been one of the fiercest rivalries of the last few years, and any hockey fan would love to see yet another playoff rematch between Washington and Pittsburgh. Can Pittsburgh win despite their obvious injury problems? I don’t know, but I do think Pittsburgh isn’t falling downhill quite as fast as Tampa. Pittsburgh will manage to win by not being the worse team; Penguins in 7.
Look for the first set of series to kick off tonight- Rangers at Caps, Coyotes at Red Wings, Lightning at Penguins, Blackhawks at Canucks, and Preds at Ducks all play their first game tonight!
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