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The Everything NHL Thread
- Thread starter Jackal
- Start date
PREDICTION TIME:
Eastern Conference:
(1) Rangers vs. (8) Senators
There are a lot of factors that go into this series. Both teams finished on a losing streak, but the Sens looked much weaker in the last couple weeks of the season. The Rags are definitely a better team, but the Sens are 3-1 against them this year. I tend to think that the season series between two teams doesn't have as much meaning for the playoffs as a lot of people do, but who knows. Lundqvist is undoubtedly a top 3 goalie in the NHL, but his playoff performances have been less than stellar. Meanwhile, Anderson was the main reason the Avalanche even put up a fight against the Sharks two years ago. In the end, the Rangers are simply a much better team in pretty much every aspect and even with all these factors, I think they don't have much trouble in this series. However, it wouldn't be the most shocking upset in the first round if the Sens won.
Prediction: Rags in 5
(2) Bruins vs. (7) Capitals
Washington is no longer the favorite in the series, so their chances of winning have effectively doubled. Jokes (???) aside, I haven't been sold on the Bruins for the entire year, even when they seemed unstoppable. Of course, I said as recently as three weeks ago that the Caps wouldn't even make the playoffs, but times have changed. The Bruins have struggled to put up an over .500 record for almost the entire second half of the season, and the Caps recently hit a rebound and look somewhat like the Eastern Conference leading team they used to be, helped even more by their best playmaker coming back from injury. Both teams have had goaltending issues lately, and it still remains to be seen whether or not Thomas will agree to play games in D.C.
Prediction: Caps in 6
(3) Panthers vs. (6) Devils
I'll admit that I'm biased towards the Panthers, partially because they're an underdog team and partially because of all the former Hawks on the team. Plus there's the John "More cups than Mario Lemieux" Madden factor to take into account. The Devils are just a better team though. The Panthers are not a team that should be in the playoffs and I can't see them beating the red hot Devils, even with home ice. Plus, Brodeur has been putting on weight so he'll take up the entire net and no pucks will go in and the Devils will win every game in a shutout. But seriously, the Devils could do some real damage this year. Panthers have a real steep hill to climb if they want to get anywhere.
Prediction: Devils in 5
(4) Penguins vs. (5) Flyers
There's a lot to be said about this series, but bottom line is Pens have the best offense in the league vs. a defense/goalie who have been notoriously shaky for the entire season. I love Bryz, but I think the Penguins have to be the favorites to win the cup at this point with a healthy Crosby/Malkin, plus MAF playing very well recently. Flyers would be doing a huge service for every other team if they could eliminate the Pens in round 1, but the series is definitely favoring the Pens. That said, I'd bet that will be far and away the most entertaining series of the first round and a lot closer than it looks on paper, similar to the Bruins/Habs series last year. Dramatic game 7 OT victory? Probably not, but lots of bad blood between the teams will keep it close.
Prediction: Pens in 7
Western Conference:
(1) Canucks vs. (8) Kings
I think this matchup will be close. Kings have been very hot lately, but so have the Canucks (albeit for a shorter, more recent period of time). Lack of scoring has hurt the Kings all year, but they've been averaging over 3 goals a game since late February, and are also sporting the second lowest GAA in the league behind St. Louis. Quick is arguably the best goalie in the league, and he was pretty much the only thing keeping LA relevant in the first 2/3rds of the season. The Nux won the Presidents trophy again, but like Boston I think many people overrate them. Plus the Luongo factor. Do the Nux abandon Luongo from his first shaky performance? Do they go with Schneider right away? By the time they figure that out, they might already be down 2 games. Do not be surprised if LA ends up winning this series, or even the entire thing. They are, in my opinion, the most dangerous team in the Western Conference right now, and only marginally less than the Penguins.
Prediction: Kings in 7
(2) Blues vs. (7) Sharks
This series is tough to call. The Blues have been the better team all year, and until recently the Sharks didn't even look like they would make the playoffs. Blues have the best defensive stats and it's not even close, and were looking to run away with the Western Conference until recently. San Jose didn't even get one point in four matchups with the Blues this year. With that said, the Sharks have been hotter recently, partially due to St. Louis being somewhat "exposed" in the last part of the season. Halak has been inconsistent lately and Elliott might be injured, and refs are no longer letting the Blues get away with their clutch and grab "zone" defense. Blues are somewhat weak on the top two lines, especially compared with San Jose. I could see this series going either way, which would definitely have not been the case 3 weeks ago. My gut says Sharks but my mind says Blues. In the end, this is pretty much the weakest matchup in the first round and whichever team makes it out of this series will get stomped in the second round.
Prediction: Blues in 6
(3) Coyotes vs. (6) Blackhawks
I think it's somewhat obvious what I'm going to predict here, but hear me out anyway. This is essentially a no-brainer for me, homerism aside. In the last 20 games, the Hawks have put up the second best record in the entire league, only behind the Penguins. This was done without their best player for the entire 20 games, and without their best D-man for 5 of those games. Goaltending has been shaky for most of the year, admittedly, but Corey Crawford has been 8-1-2 with 1.82 GAA/.920 SV% since the Hawks traded for Oduya, not to mention he was phenomenal last year against the Canucks. Mike Smith has been playing better, but goaltending won't be the deciding factor in this series. The Blackhawks finished with more points in a better division, and the Yotes wouldn't have even been in the playoff discussion if it wasn't for a month-long stretch of games where they were playing above their level. The Hawks have more playoff experience, much more talented forwards and offensive firepower, and a defense that has been playing much better since February. The biggest factors in this series are if Mike "3 playoff appearances" Smith can keep up his current level against the high-powered Blackhawks' offense, whether or not the most bi-polar team in the league can maintain their recent performance level, and whether or not Toews can remain healthy for the series. Chances are I'll be eating my words in 2 weeks, but on paper the matchup definitely favors Chicago.
Prediction: Hawks in 5
(4) Predators vs. (5) Detroit
Biggest no-brainer prediction of the first round. Detroit is currently the worst team in the playoffs. I will say that I do not put anywhere near the stock in the Preds' recent moves as most people do. A heartless Russian, 3rd line grinder and overrated D-man are not going to suddenly jump Nashville into the top 3 or even top 5 favorites to win the cup. They have a good deal of forward depth but very little top end offensive talent, and one pair of All-Star D-men and scrubs after that. Nashville has barely topped a .500 record since the trade deadline until they won the last three games of the season against teams with nothing to play for. They're a good team, sure, but I'm still not sold on them being near the top teams as cup favorites. Again, I'll probably eat my words here eventually, but for now I'll just say that Nashville lucked out in drawing the weakest team in the playoffs. Detroit will probably win one at home but Nashville has very little trouble advancing to the second round.
Prediction: Preds in 5
Eastern Conference:
(1) Rangers vs. (8) Senators
There are a lot of factors that go into this series. Both teams finished on a losing streak, but the Sens looked much weaker in the last couple weeks of the season. The Rags are definitely a better team, but the Sens are 3-1 against them this year. I tend to think that the season series between two teams doesn't have as much meaning for the playoffs as a lot of people do, but who knows. Lundqvist is undoubtedly a top 3 goalie in the NHL, but his playoff performances have been less than stellar. Meanwhile, Anderson was the main reason the Avalanche even put up a fight against the Sharks two years ago. In the end, the Rangers are simply a much better team in pretty much every aspect and even with all these factors, I think they don't have much trouble in this series. However, it wouldn't be the most shocking upset in the first round if the Sens won.
Prediction: Rags in 5
(2) Bruins vs. (7) Capitals
Washington is no longer the favorite in the series, so their chances of winning have effectively doubled. Jokes (???) aside, I haven't been sold on the Bruins for the entire year, even when they seemed unstoppable. Of course, I said as recently as three weeks ago that the Caps wouldn't even make the playoffs, but times have changed. The Bruins have struggled to put up an over .500 record for almost the entire second half of the season, and the Caps recently hit a rebound and look somewhat like the Eastern Conference leading team they used to be, helped even more by their best playmaker coming back from injury. Both teams have had goaltending issues lately, and it still remains to be seen whether or not Thomas will agree to play games in D.C.
Prediction: Caps in 6
(3) Panthers vs. (6) Devils
I'll admit that I'm biased towards the Panthers, partially because they're an underdog team and partially because of all the former Hawks on the team. Plus there's the John "More cups than Mario Lemieux" Madden factor to take into account. The Devils are just a better team though. The Panthers are not a team that should be in the playoffs and I can't see them beating the red hot Devils, even with home ice. Plus, Brodeur has been putting on weight so he'll take up the entire net and no pucks will go in and the Devils will win every game in a shutout. But seriously, the Devils could do some real damage this year. Panthers have a real steep hill to climb if they want to get anywhere.
Prediction: Devils in 5
(4) Penguins vs. (5) Flyers
There's a lot to be said about this series, but bottom line is Pens have the best offense in the league vs. a defense/goalie who have been notoriously shaky for the entire season. I love Bryz, but I think the Penguins have to be the favorites to win the cup at this point with a healthy Crosby/Malkin, plus MAF playing very well recently. Flyers would be doing a huge service for every other team if they could eliminate the Pens in round 1, but the series is definitely favoring the Pens. That said, I'd bet that will be far and away the most entertaining series of the first round and a lot closer than it looks on paper, similar to the Bruins/Habs series last year. Dramatic game 7 OT victory? Probably not, but lots of bad blood between the teams will keep it close.
Prediction: Pens in 7
Western Conference:
(1) Canucks vs. (8) Kings
I think this matchup will be close. Kings have been very hot lately, but so have the Canucks (albeit for a shorter, more recent period of time). Lack of scoring has hurt the Kings all year, but they've been averaging over 3 goals a game since late February, and are also sporting the second lowest GAA in the league behind St. Louis. Quick is arguably the best goalie in the league, and he was pretty much the only thing keeping LA relevant in the first 2/3rds of the season. The Nux won the Presidents trophy again, but like Boston I think many people overrate them. Plus the Luongo factor. Do the Nux abandon Luongo from his first shaky performance? Do they go with Schneider right away? By the time they figure that out, they might already be down 2 games. Do not be surprised if LA ends up winning this series, or even the entire thing. They are, in my opinion, the most dangerous team in the Western Conference right now, and only marginally less than the Penguins.
Prediction: Kings in 7
(2) Blues vs. (7) Sharks
This series is tough to call. The Blues have been the better team all year, and until recently the Sharks didn't even look like they would make the playoffs. Blues have the best defensive stats and it's not even close, and were looking to run away with the Western Conference until recently. San Jose didn't even get one point in four matchups with the Blues this year. With that said, the Sharks have been hotter recently, partially due to St. Louis being somewhat "exposed" in the last part of the season. Halak has been inconsistent lately and Elliott might be injured, and refs are no longer letting the Blues get away with their clutch and grab "zone" defense. Blues are somewhat weak on the top two lines, especially compared with San Jose. I could see this series going either way, which would definitely have not been the case 3 weeks ago. My gut says Sharks but my mind says Blues. In the end, this is pretty much the weakest matchup in the first round and whichever team makes it out of this series will get stomped in the second round.
Prediction: Blues in 6
(3) Coyotes vs. (6) Blackhawks
I think it's somewhat obvious what I'm going to predict here, but hear me out anyway. This is essentially a no-brainer for me, homerism aside. In the last 20 games, the Hawks have put up the second best record in the entire league, only behind the Penguins. This was done without their best player for the entire 20 games, and without their best D-man for 5 of those games. Goaltending has been shaky for most of the year, admittedly, but Corey Crawford has been 8-1-2 with 1.82 GAA/.920 SV% since the Hawks traded for Oduya, not to mention he was phenomenal last year against the Canucks. Mike Smith has been playing better, but goaltending won't be the deciding factor in this series. The Blackhawks finished with more points in a better division, and the Yotes wouldn't have even been in the playoff discussion if it wasn't for a month-long stretch of games where they were playing above their level. The Hawks have more playoff experience, much more talented forwards and offensive firepower, and a defense that has been playing much better since February. The biggest factors in this series are if Mike "3 playoff appearances" Smith can keep up his current level against the high-powered Blackhawks' offense, whether or not the most bi-polar team in the league can maintain their recent performance level, and whether or not Toews can remain healthy for the series. Chances are I'll be eating my words in 2 weeks, but on paper the matchup definitely favors Chicago.
Prediction: Hawks in 5
(4) Predators vs. (5) Detroit
Biggest no-brainer prediction of the first round. Detroit is currently the worst team in the playoffs. I will say that I do not put anywhere near the stock in the Preds' recent moves as most people do. A heartless Russian, 3rd line grinder and overrated D-man are not going to suddenly jump Nashville into the top 3 or even top 5 favorites to win the cup. They have a good deal of forward depth but very little top end offensive talent, and one pair of All-Star D-men and scrubs after that. Nashville has barely topped a .500 record since the trade deadline until they won the last three games of the season against teams with nothing to play for. They're a good team, sure, but I'm still not sold on them being near the top teams as cup favorites. Again, I'll probably eat my words here eventually, but for now I'll just say that Nashville lucked out in drawing the weakest team in the playoffs. Detroit will probably win one at home but Nashville has very little trouble advancing to the second round.
Prediction: Preds in 5
WHY DOES GOD REWARD THE OILERS FOR SUCKING?
If there was ever proof that god didn't exist, this is it.
Oilers should trade down a few spots and draft a D-man. The last thing they need is another talented rookie forward to be wasted playing with that god awful defense.
I'm surprised HFboards hasn't crashed yet. So many jealous TO/Habs fans :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Luckily for Columbus, the consensus top two overall picks (Yakupov and Grigorenko) are pretty damn close in terms of talent
I honestly wouldn't be surprised one bit if Columbus went for Murray instead considering their history with Russian players.
Oilers are literally one year away from having their top 2 lines be their last 6 first round draft picks
Hall - RNH - Yakupov
2013 1st Overall Draft Pick - Gagner - Eberle
Hall - RNH - Yakupov
2013 1st Overall Draft Pick - Gagner - Eberle
fixed
yes, my mistake
Gagner will play 3rd line center which will be filled with whichever players from the top two lines bust and get replaced by subsequent 1st rounders
Gagner will play 3rd line center which will be filled with whichever players from the top two lines bust and get replaced by subsequent 1st rounders
Nah.
Their GM just said he believes his team is the strongest on defense.
Going for a forward.
It's going to be funny when Taylor Hall is a 10 year vet and the Oilers are still getting the first overall pick.
"We're only in a partial rebuild. With the first overall pick we believe it will be enough to get us over the hump. Taylor Hall will have one last chance to make the playoffs before his career is over."
"We're only in a partial rebuild. With the first overall pick we believe it will be enough to get us over the hump. Taylor Hall will have one last chance to make the playoffs before his career is over."
way to be canadian. PHA.
here are some videos for your viewing pleasure
[youtube]BFrjVx4B9X8[/youtube]
[youtube]eXQGrFY5fw0[/youtube]
here are some videos for your viewing pleasure
[youtube]BFrjVx4B9X8[/youtube]
[youtube]eXQGrFY5fw0[/youtube]
mhmm CHOKESBURGH
The pens looked so fucking bad in the 3rd and OT. There was just no threat of scoring at all. Just terrible. This is why I didn't want to see the flyers.