NHL Eastern Conference Semifinal Predictions

The NHL Eastern Conference Semifinal round will begin tonight as the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Ottawa Senators in Game 1. With their Game 7 wins last night, the New York Rangers will face the Boston Bruins in the other semifinal matchup. Here are my predictions for the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

#1 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #7 Ottawa Senators

The Pittsburgh Penguins struggled to defeat the #8 seeded New York Islanders in the first round while the Ottawa Senators dominated the #2 seeded Montreal Canadians. If the Penguins want to advance to the Eastern Conference Final, they must find a way to beat Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson. He finished the first round with an impressive .95% save percentage. Pittsburgh’s goaltending situation is not as clear as Marc-Andre Fleury started the first four games of their first round series but was replaced by Tomas Vokoun for Games 5 and 6 which were both wins for the Penguins. Vokoun will start Game 1 but if he struggles, how quickly will Fleury be put back in? Evgeni Malkin led the Penguins forwards with 11 points (2 G, 9 A) in the first round while Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson tied for the Senators lead with 6 points. This series will be a classic matchup of a talented offensive team (Penguins) against a good defensive team (Senators) with one of the top goalies in the playoffs. As good as Anderson has been, the Penguins offensive depth and skill will be too much to overcome and the first round struggle against the Islanders will only make the Penguins stronger and more focused.

Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins in 6

#4 Boston Bruins #6 New York Rangers
After an epic comeback in the third period of Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Bruins advanced to the semifinal round against another Original Six team, the New York Rangers. The Rangers rallied from a 2-0 series deficit to defeat the Washington Capitals in seven games. Henrik Lundqvist leads all goaltenders with 2 shutouts this postseason. His shutouts came with the Rangers facing elimination in Games 6 and 7. The Bruins David Krejci leads all playoff scorers with 13 points (5G, 8A) but they will need Jaromir Jagr and Brad Marchand to step up and contribute offensively against the Rangers. The Rangers offense broke out in Game 7 but struggled to put points on the board in the previous six games against the Capitals. The Bruins physical play and deeper blue line will be a stark contrast to the style of play that the Rangers saw in the first round. Look for the Bruins to put their big forwards in front of the net and utilize screens, deflections, and rebounds to put the puck past Lundqvist. This is my pick for the best series of the Semifinal round.

Prediction: Boston Bruins in 7

NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Preview and Predictions

The NHL Eastern Conference playoff picture is finally clear after the Ottawa Senators defeated the Boston Bruins Sunday night. With the win, the Senators clinched the #7 seed and avoided playing the top seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. The Boston Bruins dropped from the #2 seed and is now the #4 seed and could potentially meet Pittsburgh in the second round. Here are the NHL Eastern Conference matchups along with my predictions.

#1 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #8 New York Islanders

The Islanders are making their first playoff appearance since 2007 and unfortunately meet the powerful Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. The Islanders surprised many this year with their excellent play and closed the season strong to hold on to their playoff spot. John Tavares emerged as a legitimate contender for the Hart Trophy with his performance during the regular season. The biggest question surrounding the Penguins is the status of Sidney Crosby. He has been out since March 30th after suffering a broken jaw. With the additions of Jarome Iginla and Brenden Morrow at the trade deadline, the Penguins have plenty of depth with or without Crosby to overcome the upstart Islanders.

Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins in 5

#2 Montreal Canadians vs. #7 Ottawa Senators

While many fans wanted the Toronto Maple Leafs to face the Montreal Canadians in the opening round, the Senators win in Boston Sunday night set up this matchup of evenly-matched teams. Expect a lot of close, low-scoring games during the series with the goaltenders dominating the headlines of the series. Montreal’s Carey Price started the season strong for the Canadians but struggled between the pipes at the conclusion of the regular season. Ottawa’s Craig Anderson was the top goaltender at the beginning of the year posting a 5-0-1 record in January but missed the entire month of March due to an injury. Look for Montreal winger Max Pacioretty to be the difference maker in the series.

Prediction: Montreal Canadians in 6

#3 Washington Capitals vs. #6 New York Rangers

This is a rematch of a classic 7 game series from last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Rangers and Capitals both stumbled out of the gate but finished the regular season strong. The Rangers are a team that nobody wants to face right now due mostly to the man in net, Henrik Lundqvist. The Capitals need to find scoring from anyone other than Alex Ovechkin if they have any hope in advancing to the next round. Special teams could be the difference maker in this series with a strong Washington power play matched against an equally impressive New York Rangers penalty kill.

Prediction: New York Rangers in 7

#4 Boston Bruins vs. #5 Toronto Maple Leafs

This is a terrific matchup of two Original Six teams that have a lot of history and animosity towards each other. The majority of the talk leading up to the series will focus on the trade that brought Phil Kessel to the Maple Leafs from Boston for draft picks that eventually became Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton but that will all dissipate once the series starts. Boston was my preseason pick to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final but they have stumbled down the stretch including their loss in the final game of the regular season against the Ottawa Senators. Toronto goaltender James Reimer has been tremendous in net for the Maple Leafs but this will be a big test for him and the rest of his teammates. Boston’s playoff experience and depth on the blue line will lead them to a first round victory.

Prediction: Boston Bruins in 6

2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 Predictions

After a fantastic regular season, the NHL playoffs are set to begin on Wednesday night. The first round features some great match-ups and a few Cup contenders will be eliminated in Round 1.  The series I am most excited to watch is the Penguins vs. Flyers match-up.  These two teams ended the regular season with two intense games and the playoffs will only make the games better.  Here are my picks for Round 1, feel free to make your picks in the comment section below.

Eastern Conference
1. NY Rangers vs. 8. Ottawa Senators – Rangers in 5
2. Boston Bruins vs. 7. Washington Capitals – Bruins in 6
3. Florida Panthers vs. 6. New Jersey Devils – Devils in 6
4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5. Philadelphia Flyers – Penguins in 7

Western Conference

1. Vancouver Canucks vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings – Canucks in 5
2. St. Louis Blues vs. 7. San Jose Sharks – Sharks in 7
3. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 6. Chicago Blackhawks – Blackhawks in 6
4. Nashville Predators vs. 5. Detroit Red Wings – Predators in 7