The playoffs are a punishing grind as the league’s teams hope to be the first to accumulate 16 wins, and for the four teams that are left they are only halfway done with their ordeal. That is like running a half marathon where each mile that you’ve ran required you to endure the equivalent of a street fight. It’s almost hard to imagine that many of these teams can have much less in the tank if the prize at the end wasn’t so extraordinary. Afterall, a player is paid for their contributions from the regular season, and apart from a fairly small monetary reward (in comparison to their salary) for advancing in the playoffs the players are more or less playing for free. Its a huge bonus to the fans and ownership who enjoy the extra revenue and for teams that may have struggled at the gate throughout most of the regular season most playoff games sellout no matter what market you’re in. Playoffs equals fans, and that can help struggling markets either break even or even manage a small profit from hosting a playoff series or two (or more). The fact of the matter is the NHL is a gate-driven league so making the playoffs is one of the most lucrative payoffs for the 16 teams that initially qualify for the post-season.
While the struggle and grind of the playoffs really tests a team’s stamina it also provides invaluable experience and really allows upper management to see how their players handle the increased intensity and pressure. Its an extended exhibition of sorts, and without question a strong playoff performance is often seen as a huge premium for a player and often can mean a far more lucrative contract than they normally would get. Playoff studs from the past like Darren McCarty, Fernando Pisani all turned clutch performances into nice contracts and no doubt San Jose’s Joe Pavelski will see a much bigger pay day because of their post-season performance. Not to take anything away from Pavelski’s strong regular season, but the playoffs magnify a players’ importance and the points and contributions a player makes then really boost a players’ credits when the games mean the most.
I have little doubt that the NHL front offices probably cringed a bit at watching the 8th seeded Montreal Canadiens take down two of the East’s most talented, and star studded teams in the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. It will no doubt hurt ratings and the buzz factor not to have Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby be one of the stories going into the conference finals let alone contending for a Stanley Cup. That may make the average, causual hockey fan a bit less interested but to the die hard hockey fans not living in the Washington D.C. area or in and around Pittsburgh its a huge chance at something different and fresh. A few years back, the NHL had a “Is this the year” campaign where they featured various NHL stars asking questions like “Is this the year Wayne Gretzky‘s single season goal scoring record gets broken?” Well enough of that sort of thing, how about truly refreshing questions like, “Is this the year that hockey fans in the East finally gain an appreciation for the talented stars of the Western Conference like Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane?” Or perhaps a bit more jaded question like this, “Is this the year when the NHL and most of its broadcasters finally stop blathering on and on about Ovechkin and Crosby to realize there are other good players in the league?” It has been tiresome listening to the constant love-fest for Crosby and Ovechkin by the Versus and NBC broadcasters and perhaps only now will they be forced to change the subject and talk about something else. Yes, they are immensely talented players but I can assure them the fans already realized that years ago, and growing tired of the constant downpour of NHL marketing (which let’s face it has been all Crosby and all Ovechkin and almost no one else) propaganda. At least this fan hopes to see a change, so without further adieu here is your Conference Finals preview along with a prediction for the outcome of the respective series. Also, I’d love to hear comments or any sort of thoughts on your part about the playoffs in general whether at the comment section below or the message board. All of the game times listed are in Central Standard Time. Enjoy!
Eastern Conference Finals:
#7 Philadelphia Flyers ~ defeated Boston 4-3 in their series
3.08 Goals For per game (8th in the NHL Playoffs)
2.42 Goals For per game (1st in the NHL Playoffs)
21.7% Power Play (6th in the NHL Playoffs)
83.6% Penalty Kill (5th in the NHL Playoffs)
Top 3 Scorers:
1. #18 Mike Richards ~ 5G 12A = 17pts
2. #48 Daniel Briere ~ 7G 8A = 15pts
3. #28 Claude Giroux ~ 5G 6A = 11pts
Top Goaltenders:
1. #33 Brian Boucher (6-4) 2.33GAA .915%SP
2. #49 Michael Leighton (2-0) 1.55GAA .943%SP
Vs
#8 Montreal Canadiens ~ defeated Pittsburgh 4-3 in their series
2.79 Goals For per game (10th in the NHL Playoffs)
2.86 Goals Against per game (9th in the NHL Playoffs)
21.6% Power Play (8th in the NHL Playoffs)
85.5% Penalty Kill (3rd in the NHL Playoffs)
Top 3 Scorers:
1. #13 Mike Cammalleri ~ 12G 6A = 18pts
2. #21 Brian Gionta ~ 7G 5A = 12pts
3. #14 Tomas Plekanec ~ 4G 7A = 11pts
Top Goaltenders:
1. #41 Jaroslav Halak (8-5) 2.42GAA .933%SP
2. #31 Carey Price (0-1) 3.43GAA .903%SP
Series Schedule: (Philadelphia wins the series 4-1)
Sunday, May 16th at Wachovia Center @ 6:00PM ~ Versus, CBC, RDS (6-0 Flyers win)
Tuesday, May 18th at Wachovia Center @ 6:00PM ~ Versus, CBC, RDS (3-0 Flyers win)
Thursday, May 20th at Bell Centre @ 6:00PM ~ Versus, CBC, RDS (5-1 Canadiens win)
Saturday, May 22nd at Bell Centre @ 2:00PM ~ NBC, CBC, RDS (3-0 Flyers win)
*Monday, May 24th at Wachovia Center @ 6:00PM ~ Versus, CBC, RDS (4-2 Flyers win)
*Wednesday, May 26th at Bell Centre @ 6:00PM ~ Versus, CBC, RDS
*Friday, May 28th at Wachovia Center @ 6:00PM ~ Versus CBC, RDS
As a Wild fan I think back to 2002-03 when two Cinderella teams, Minnesota as the 6th seed surprised many after two stunning 3-1 comebacks in the quarterfinals and semi’s against Colorado and Vancouver respectively only to play 8th seeded Anaheim and found themselves stonewalled by the Ducks and Jean-Sebastien Giguere and were swept in 4 games, will we see a similar result here? As was the case in 2002-03 no one gave these teams much credit going into the playoffs yet they both find themselves in the conference finals. Montreal has been the giant killer, knocking off #1 Washington and #2 Pittsburgh and has to feel it already has overcome a lot but now its facing another team that has a bit of a chip on its shoulder after qualifying for the post season via a shootout against the New York Rangers to now being just 4 wins away from the Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers punished and dispatched the Jacques Lemaire-coached New Jersey Devils and then became the first team since the 1975 New York Islanders to comeback from a 3-0 series deficit to shock the Bruins in Boston. The Flyers used strong phyical play, with an emergence from Daniel Briere to take full advantage of a coasting type effort by Tuukka Rask and the Bruins to pull off the stunner. Montreal on the otherhand used tremendous team defense and excellent counterpunching style of play to both frustrate the high powered Penguins, and the clutch scoring of Mike Cammalleri to thwart Pittsburgh’s chance to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. The Canadiens will need continued strong play from its offensive workhorses of Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta who appears to be finding his old form, and Cammalleri to show they can continue to be opportunistic. The Flyers will hope to use its superior size and strength to try to slow down the speedy Canadiens and they hope their collection of aggressive crease-crashing forwards like Scott Hartnell, Mike Richards, as well as their version of “Mr. Clutch” in Simon Gagne. Montreal’s x-factor has been the stellar play of Jaroslav Halak, but its a bit more interesting for the Flyers who have had sort of a mix of good and bad from Brian Boucher causing them to opt for Michael Leighton who delivered nicely in Game #6 and Game #7. Expect the Flyers to go with Leighton early in this series. Defensively the Habs have had tremendous work from Hall Gill, Josh Gorges as they’ve fearlessly stepped in front of shot after shot while former Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger continues to show his best work in the playoffs for the Flyers. In some ways these teams mirror each other in the fact they have strong special teams and have been very difficult to score against, but Montreal uses more of a rope-a-dope approach where they don’t seem quite as bothered as giving up more shots than they’re taking. The Canadiens were the only team coming into the playoffs having given up more goals than they had scored and its strange combination of continued success despite still giving up more than they score themselves will be tested once again. Prediction: I think the small and speedy Canadiens will again find a way to confound and frustrate the Flyers by winning in 6 games and becoming the first 8th seed to reach the Stanley Cup Finals since the Edmonton Oilers.
Western Conference Finals:
#1 San Jose Sharks ~ defeated Detroit 4-1 in their series
3.09 Goals For per game (7th in the NHL Playoffs)
2.54 Goals Against per game (2nd in the NHL Playoffs)
19.3% Power Play (10th in the NHL Playoffs)
84.2% Penalty Kill (4th in the NHL Playoffs)
Top 3 Scorers:
1. #8 Joe Pavelski ~ 9G 6A = 15pts
2. #19 Joe Thornton ~ 3G 8A = 11pts
3. #15 Dany Heatley ~ 2G 9A = 11pts
Top Goaltenders:
1. #20 Evgeni Nabokov (8-3) 2.43GAA .907%SP
Vs.
#2 Chicago Blackhawks ~ defeated Vancouver 4-2 in their series
3.33 Goals For per game (3rd in the NHL Playoffs)
2.75 Goals Against per game (5th in the NHL Playoffs)
21.6% Power Play (7th in the NHL Playoffs)
88.7% Penalty Kill (2nd in the NHL Playoffs)
Top 3 Scorers:
1. #19 Jonathan Toews ~ 6G 14A = 20pts
2. #88 Patrick Kane ~ 7G 8A = 15pts
3. #10 Patrick Sharp ~ 5G 9A = 14pts
Top Goaltenders:
1. #31 Antti Niemi (8-4) 2.57GAA .909%SP
Series schedule: (Chicago wins the series 4-0)
Sunday, May 16th at HP Pavillion @ 2:00PM – NBC, TSN, RDS (2-1 Blackhawks win)
Tuesday, May 18th at HP Pavillion @ 9:00PM – Versus, TSN, RDS (4-2 Blackhawks win)
Friday, May 21st at United Center @ 7:00PM – Versus, TSN, RDS (3-2 Blackhawks OT win)
Sunday, May 23rd at United Center @ 2:00PM – NBC, CBC, RDS (4-0 Blackhawks win)
*Tuesday, May 25th at HP Pavillion @ 8:00PM – Versus, TSN, RDS
*Thursday, May 27th at United Center @ 7:00PM – Versus, TSN, RDS
*Saturday, May 29th at HP Pavillion @ 7:00PM – Versus, TSN, RDS
It has been quite a while that the top two seeded teams faced one another in the Conference finals yet that is what we have in the West. Both teams combine great offensive skill and a suffocating defense which makes them very formidible opponents. For the Chicago Blackhawks, it is taking that next step while it puts its best team on the ice before the salary cap clock strikes twelve turning a fair portion of the team back into a pumpkin. The Blackhawks just ran out of gas last season as they were defeated by Central division arch rival Detroit, and believe the additions of playoff veterans Marian Hossa and John Madden will be enough to propel them to the Stanley Cup Finals. On the other half of this matchup, the San Jose Sharks story is all about living up to expectations. Always an extremely strong regular season performer, they have not found much success in the post-season. This is supposed to be the year where they go from simply living up to big expectations to delivering a Stanley Cup celebration to Northern California. The addition of Dany Heatley was supposed to give the Sharks already potent attack another level of lethality and while Heatley is not at 100% and so far has been quiet goal scoring-wise if he happens to emerge it could spell doom for Chicago. Defensively both teams feature a strong, yet versatile bluelines as the Sharks are led by the smooth skating Dan Boyle, veteran Rob Blake, young stay-at-home defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Douglas Murray. The Blackhawks defense is also very solid with the young tandem of Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, surprisingly poised Niklas Hjalmarsson and the risk-taking former Shark Brian Campbell. It will no doubt be a chess match of matching lines as the Blackhawks try to sneak in Kane and Toews and San Jose attempts to overpower Chicago with Thornton, Marleau and Heatley. Yet all of this star calibre talent may not be the real story as to the outcome of this series. It will likely have far more to do about the performances of experienced veteran Evgeni Nabokov and playoff newcomer Antti Niemi between the pipes. Even a slightly off night by either of these two netminders will spell instant catastrophe, and perhaps a quick end to their Stanley Cup dreams. Offensively, both teams have lots of unsung talent that may rise to prominence as the Sharks have gritty forwards Pavelski, Ryane Clowe, Devin Setoguchi and an emerging story in rookie Logan Couture who has not looked out of place at all during the Sharks’ first two series against Colorado and Detroit respectively. Chicago will be looking to the underrated and very versatile Patrick Sharp as well as the swift and skilled former Red Wing Tomas Kopecky, small but slippery Kris Versteeg along with the big and burly Dustin Byfuglien for supplementary scoring. Special teams look to be very even and if either team can gain a significant edge in one or the other it might end up being the decisive factor. Prediction: I know this may seem to go against conventional wisdom but I think the San Jose Sharks are going to prevail in a fantastic 7-game series. I think the Blackhawks’ defense is going to take one too many risks and the terrific speed of the Sharks will be able to counter attack and take advantage of those opportunities.
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