NHL Playoffs - Round 2 Previews and Predictions

1-1 last night, thanks to Vancouver's 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars my first round predictions were respectable at 7 for 8. The lone miscall was in the Nashville vs San Jose series. Several times I mentioned that whichever team wins that series will win the West division. Looks like it will be San Jose instead of Nashville. Ah well, 7 of 8 is pretty good.

Round 2 Predictions:

Eastern Conference Matchups:

Buffalo Sabres (1) vs New York Rangers (6) : The Buffalo Sabres can play 4 scoring lines against the Rangers 1 and a half. The Rangers top line of Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka and Michael Nylander can cause some problems but other than Brendan Shanahan they don't have much depth up front. Their defense can be quite good and will give the Sabres fits, but the depth of Buffalo up front will win this series in the end. Assuming of course that Ryan Miller and Henrik Lundqvist continue to play as well as they have so far this postseason. If either goalie falls off the face of the earth it changes the outcome in this series. On April 10th I said Sabres in 5 games, I will have to change that prediction to Sabres in 6, Lundqvist has been more solid than I expected.

New Jersey Devils (2) vs Ottawa Senators (4) : The New Jersey Devils have Martin Brodeur. Enough said? The Senators have some decent depth at forward and an okay defensive core, but this entire series rests on the shoulders of Ray Emery. If Emery can be a steady presence in between the pipes then the Senators have a chance to steal this series. On the other hand, if Martin Brodeur plays like... well like Martin Brodeur the Devils win this one hands down. Back on April 10th I said Devils in 6 games over the Sens, I stick by that prediction, unless Brodeur proves human in round 2.

Western Conference Matchups:

Detroit Red Wings (1) vs San Jose Sharks (5) : The San Jose Sharks were my one miscall in round 1, they destroyed the Nashville Predators in 5 games and look to be one fearsome playoff team. The good news is that I also stated that the winner of the Preds vs Sharks series would also win the Western Conference. I'll stick by that prediction even though the Red Wings made a strong statement in round 1 against Calgary. The Sharks are big, strong and can roll two top scoring lines and the play of Evgeni Nabokov in round 1 makes them the team to beat in this series. Dominik Hasek was strong against Calgary but he is always a tweaked groin away from being a non-factor. On April 10th I predicted that the Predators would beat the Red Wings in 7 games. I'll stick with that prediction but substitute the Sharks. San Jose in 7 over Detroit.

Anaheim Ducks (2) vs Vancouver Canucks (3) : As expected the Ducks beat Minnesota. What was not expected was how quickly they would do it. The Wild tried to intimidate the Ducks and it simply did not work. Vancouver went to 7 games with Dallas and looked lucky at times to win the series. I don't expect them to hang around very long against Anaheim. On April 10th I predicted the Ducks in 7 games, I'll have to update that to the Ducks in 6. Vancouver's scoring issues are worse than I thought they would be.

Hit me with your stick? Fine, I boot you from the Playoffs

Calgary Flames backup goaltender Jamie McLennan is probably crying in his beer at the first tee this morning as Johan Franzen gets the ultimate revenge.

The Hockey Herold posted the video of Calgary Flames backup Jamie McLennan swatting Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen repeatedly in Saturday nights game 5 matchup between the two teams. He also put up a nice summary of the NHL's response to the shenanigans.

I have placed the video below for your viewing pleasure.



Now why am I rehashing this issue?

Simple, forget the fines and the suspension, what hurts the most is that it was Franzen who scored the OT winner last night to send the Flames packing from the 2007 NHL Playoffs. Apparently the two handed slash to Franzen's midsection didn't faze him a bit.

Hey Jamie, stings a bit doesn't it?

NHL Playoffs Video Highlights - April 22nd

From the NHL Highlight Machine

2007 NHL Playoffs Video Highlights

New Jersey Devils 3 (4) at Tampa Bay Lightning 2 (2) :




Detroit Red Wings 2 (4) at Calgary Flames 1 (2) :

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 23rd

0/2 last night, my first o'fer of the playoffs (so far). New Jersey and Detroit eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Calgary Flames in their respective game 6 matchups. I may have gone 0-2 for the day but I am 2/2 on the series outcomes. Always look on the bright side of life... (sorry, I don't know how to write whistling?)

Tonights game:

Dallas Stars (3) at Vancouver Canucks (3) : Game 7 for the Stars and Canucks, Marty Turco has managed to drag his team back from a 3-1 series deficit by shutting out the high-powered (note the sarcasm) offence of Vancouver 3 times. I'm not quite sure which way to go on this game. Dallas completely outplayed Vancouver in game 6 at home and play game 7 on the road tonight. I've got to go with my 1st round prediction of Vancouver to win the series, if the Canucks can manage to score a few goals Roberto Luongo will get them the win.

Last night recaps:

New Jersey Devils 3 (4) at Tampa Bay Lightning 2 (2) :
Martin Brodeur won his 93rd post-season game to move into sole possession of 2nd place on the all time list just a little way behind Patrick Roy's 151. The All-star netminder rebounded from some sub-par performances in the first three games of the series to pull the Devils past a tough first round opponent in the Lightning. For Tampa Bay, the lack of balanced scoring across their roster hurt them despite above average performances from rookie goaltender Johan Holmqvist through most of the series. Tampa just didn't have the depth to beat Brodeur and the Devils.

Detroit Red Wings 2 (4) at Calgary Flames 1 (2) : The Red Wings finally won a game on the road in their first round playoff series against the Calgary Flames and it was the one that mattered most. The Red Wings won 4:23 into the second overtime period on a goal by Johan Franzen. Fitting since Franzen was the recipient of the slash by Calgary backup goalie Jamie McLennan in game 5 of the series. Forget the suspension and the fines, what has to hurt most is that Franzen was the one to end Calgary's stay in the 2007 NHL Playoffs. Detroit awaits the outcome of the Dallas Stars vs Vancouver Canucks series to find out who their round 2 series will be with. If Dallas wins the Wings will play them, if the Canucks pull it out Detroit will play San Jose.

Round 1 Predictions:
Round 1 Playoff Predictions and Hot Players
Complete Playoff Predictions

2007 NHL Playoffs Recap and Predictions - Apr 22nd

1/2 last night. Dallas managed to snap their losing streak at home in the playoffs partially because Vancouver forgot that they had to try to win. Dominik Hasek lost his shutout bid in the middle of the 3rd period on a disputed goal. The fact that I have him in my playoff pool has nothing to do with the fact that I thought it was a high stick. Really.

Tonights Games:

New Jersey Devils (3) at Tampa Bay Lightning (2) : With Martin Brodeur threatening to return to dominance as a goaltender the playoff lives of the Tampa Bay Lightning look a little less secure. Despite that I expect the Lightning to push hard tonight and get some production out of someone not named Vincent Lecavalier or Martin St. Louis. This series is going to 7 games back in New Jersey.

Detroit Red Wings (3) at Calgary Flames (2) : The Red Wings won an emphatic game 5 at home yesterday and have a chance to eliminate the Flames at the Saddledome tonight. The home team has won each game in this series and it is quite likely that this will continue. The Flames have to be embarrassed over their loss in Detroit yesterday and will come up all fired to win tonight.

Recaps Day11:

Calgary Flames 1 (2) at Detroit Red Wings 5 (3) : Dominik Hasek lost his shutout bid with 10 minutes left in the 3rd as the Red Wings completely dominated the Flames at home. Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Lidstrom combined for 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) to lead the Red Wings to a 3-2 series lead. Good news for the Wings as these are Zetterberg's first points since returning from injury just before the playoffs began.

Vancouver Canucks 0 (3) at Dallas Stars 2 (3) : The Dallas Stars returned from a 3-1 series deficit to win the last 2 meetings, in overtime and at home, to force game 7. Last night they won at home for the first time in 7 playoff games at home and Mike Modano got his first goal of the series to give the Stars a 1-0 lead just 3:05 into the game on a 5-3 advantage. Marty Turco made the goal stand up and recorded his 3rd shutout of this playoff series, a feat that only 12 other goaltenders have accomplished. Game 7 goes tomorrow night.