Playoff Predictions: If I was a betting man

I'm pretty sure that I've set a record for worst analysis of the playoffs. If you look at the east right now Boston, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay all lost their first game in their respective series. The only team that is currently proving me right are the Washington Capitals who barely snuck by in overtime. Not only did they fail to win, they failed to score a goal- between all three teams. The Flyers, Bruins and Lightning have all been shutout on day one.

Then if we look over in the western conference, things aren't that much better. Chicago was shutout by Vancouver and Anaheim only registered one goal against the Nashville Predators. Right now the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks are the only two teams in the western conference that are getting it done. The Sharks were lucky to escape overtime with the two points and could be a lot tighter series then most expected it to be.

Lets hope some of these teams can turn things around.

Playoff Predicitions: Western Conference

Vancouver Canucks (1st Seed) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (8th Seed)
Prediction: Chicago Blackhawks

Offence: Chicago
Defence: Vancouver
Goaltending: Vancouver
Coaching: Chicago
Special Teams: Vancouver

My first big upset is the defending stanley cup chicago blackhawks beating the president trophy winning Vancouver Canucks. Sure, Chicago doesn't have the same depth that they had in the past but I still think they have all the tools to be successful in the post season. If Chicago was rated number one and Vancouver was 8th im sure a lot of panels and fans would be singing a different tune. The fact is, Vancouver had a lot of gimmie points against a weak division and has NOT looked very good at the end of the season. Luongo has a history of chocking when everything is on the line and with the lose to Malholtra I don't see the Canucks having either the scoring depth or a very good penalty kill. Chicago has a VERY good powerplay but still has to work on their penalty kill if they want to be successful. Ironically they had a poor powerplay last year and a strong penalty kill so i'm not too worried about special teams with the hawks.

I also think the Hawks match up well. They have Keith and Seabrook to shutdown the sedins while the canucks will have to heavily rely on guys like Kesler, Samuelsson, and Raymond to put up points. IMO they will have a hard time doing that against a Brian Campbell that has a +28 and Hjalmarsson with a +13 on the season. As far as goaltending goes, Corey Crawford has allowed 2.30 GAA while Luongo has allowed 2.10 GAA. As far as goals for go, Vancouver has scored 262 goals while Chicago scored 258 goals. If the sedins can get shutdown, Chicago should have the edge in this series. I might be crazy for picking an 8th seeded team but its hard not to pick them after they destroyed the canucks in the playoffs last year.



San Jose Sharks (2nd Seed) vs. Los Angeles Kings (7th Seed)
Prediction: San Jose Sharks

Offence: San Jose
Defence: Los Angeles
Goaltending: Los Angeles
Coaching: San Jose
Special Teams: Tie

The Los Angeles Kings are going to have problems scoring goals against the San Jose Sharks. Even with Anze Kopitar the kings finished 21st in the leauge on the powerplay. Still, the kings had the fourth best penalty kill while the Sharks were 24th in that category. The Sharks were second on the powerplay this year and if either team can improve either rank in the post-season they should be able to win the series.

I think the Sharks have the goaltending they did not in the past. Antti Niemi has a .920 save percentage and six shutouts on the year. Dany Heatley could also relaly break out in the playoffs given his 64 points in 80 games this year. Another thing worth noting is that the only players with a negative +/- this year were their team leader in points (Patrick Marleau with -3) and Devin Setoguchi with -2. This is much different then Jack Johnson's -21, Brad Richardson's -13 and Trevor Lewis's -11. The nail in the coffin is that San Jose has SEVEN twenty goal scorers while LA will be icing three.



Detroit Red Wings (3rd Seed) vs. Phoenix Coyotes
Prediction: Detroit Red Wings

Offence: Detroit
Defence: Detroit
Goaltending: Phoenix
Coaching: Phoenix
Special Teams: Detroit

Phoenix has a terrible powerplay and a terrible penalty kill. Factor that in with the team only have one 20 goal scorer (Shane Doan with 20), I don't see where the goals are going to come from when the game is on the line. Sure, someone might step up but Detroit has four twenty goal scorers. Somehow the Yotes have mustured wins against the wings this season but I don't see it continuing in the playoffs.

I think Bryz is a stellar goaltender but im not convinced that he is that much better then Howard. Howard had a .924 save percentage last year and was sitting at .915 save percentage in the playoffs last year as well.



Anaheim Ducks (4th Seed) vs. Nashville Predators
Prediction: Anaheim Ducks

Offence: Anaheim
Defence: Nashville
Goaltending: Nashville
Coaching: Nashville
Special Teams: Anaheim

Once again, Nashville is a team that is going to struggle scoring goals. They have a brutal powerplay and were almost a team that had ZERO twenty goal scorers this season. Luckily Sergei Kostitsyn finished with 23 goals and Patric Hornqvist finished with 21 goals. Pekka Rinne is the only reason that the Predators are in the playoffs right now and he will have to stand on his head if they are going to beat the ducks. Having said that, statisically speaking Jonas Hiller and Ray Emery aren;t that far back on his numbers.

Also given the role that Corey Perry scored fifty goals and on a hot streak isn't going to help the predators. The ducks also have two solid lines that can produce while Lubomir Visnovsky is an impressive +18 and Toni Lydman is an impressive +32.

(pictures courtesy of thenow.ca, nhl.com, unathleticmag.com, admatch-syndication.mochila.com)

Playoff Predictions: Eastern Conference

Washington Capitals (1st Seed) vs. New York Rangers (8th Seed)
Prediction: Washington Capitals

Offence: Washington
Defence: Washington
Goaltending: New York
Coaching: Washington
Special Teams: Washington

The analysis above might leave you pretty unclear but I will do my best to explain. Given that the Rangers score goals in bundles and arguably have the better defencemen, I still think that the Washington Capitals play better team defence and are able to generate offence... they just choose not to. Their offence is solid and can play both ends of the ice. With the addition of Arnott and Dennis Wideman they are a much deeper team. These aren't the run and gun capitals that are going to be effected by the better goaltender IMO. Washington can play so many styles and hurt you in so many ways. They finished the season second in the leauge on the PK and have shown that they can play the defence needed to win a cup.

I would be shocked if Lundqist stands on his head and takes the Rangers past the Capitals. The Rangers have a better chance of Gaborik getting injured then getting past Ovechkin and the Capitals. Still, the Rangers have had the capitals number this year and will probably cause more trouble then anticipated.



Philadelphia Flyer (2nd Seed) vs. Buffalo Sabres (7th Seed)
Prediction: Philadelphia Flyers

Offence: Philadelphia
Defence: Philadelphia
Goaltending: Buffalo
Coaching: Buffalo
Special Teams: Buffalo

Despite having a terrible end to the season and questionmarks in goal, the Philadelphia Flyers have to be the favourite in this match. Obviously don't have the goaltending that the Buffalo Sabres in Ryan Miller but I would still have to give them the go-ahead in this series. They have extraordinary depth down the middle and one of the best defences in the leauge. I have my worries that the team will rebound and put on their playoff shoes but given the damage they did last year with arguably a weaker roster... I don't see them being knocked out of the first round. One thing is for sure, they have to be better on special teams. They are 15th in the leauge on the PK and 19th on the powerplay. If they can stay out of the box they should win this series.

To be fair I like Buffalo more and wouldn't be surpised if Ryan Miller stands on his head and steals a few games. With Hecht, Roy, and Leoplold likely out it will be a challenge for the rest of the offence. I think they have it in them to outscore Philly but their defence isn't nearly as good as the Flyers.



Boston Bruins (3rd Seed) vs. Montreal Canadiens (6th Seed)
Prediction: Boston Bruins

Offence: Boston
Defence: Boston
Goaltending: Boston
Coaching: Montreal
Special Teams: Montreal

The way I see it, if Boston ends up overpaying for Kaberle and are eliminated from the playoffs in the first round they are going to look bad. Not only does Boston have the best goaltender in the leauge with Tim Thomas, I have always thought that Carey Price has been overrated. Sure he is the saviour in Montreal and has even challenged for the best goaltender this year but Thomas isn't just the best... hes the best by far. As far as offence goes the bruins are deeper down the middle and play playoff hockey. Defence is hard to argue with Kaberle and Chara being better then anything Montreal has to offer.

I know Montreal has the better head-to-head record but that is for the most part without Kaberle. They obviously have the better special teams and will have to rely on price to stand on his head to win this series. The fast Canadiens will always be a great rival of the bruins but IMO don't have the depth to score 5 on 5. The Bruins have 4 guys that have scored over 50 points while Montreal just has one. It should be a great series after the Max Pacioretty hit.



Pittsburgh Penguins (4th Seed) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (5th Seed)
Prediction: Tampa Bay Lightning

Offence: Tampa Bay
Defence: Pittsburgh
Goaltending: Pittsburgh
Coaching: Pittsburgh
Special Teams: Tampa Bay

With Crosby and Malkin possibly missing the playoffs and a roster that has been picked apart since their stanley cup win, I wouldn't put my money on the Penguins. I guess this is really the only upset that im predicting and for good reason. The Penguins were 25th in leauge on the powerplay while Tampa was 6th in the NHL. The Penguins had the best PK while Tampa wasn't too far off at 8th. With Crosby out their leading scorer was Kris Letang with 50 points. After that it was Chris Kunitz with 48, Tim Kennedy with 45, Pascal Dupuis with 37 and Matt Cooke with 30 points. Even if we exclued St.Louis's 99 points and Stamkos with his 91 points the Lightning look much deeper. They have Vincent Lecavalier with 54 points, Teddy Purcell with 51, Simon Gagne with 40 points, and Ryan Malone with 38 points.

Having said that, their are still concerns with it comes to Tampa Bay's defence and goaltending. I think Roloson's .912 save percentage is good enough to give them a chance every game and is only 0.06 points behind Fleury's .918. Now im not saying he's as good but I don't think he will hurt the team either. I think Clark, Hedman, Brewer, Ohlund and Kubina are solid but wish their was more. Letang, Martin and Michalek are clearly ahead.

Stay tuned for tomorrow for the Western Conference!

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