Now we are on the nitty-gritty in the NHL. We welcome back Hawkeye to dissect the Western and Eastern Conference match-ups.
Eastern Conference
4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 6) Carolina Hurricanes
Whoa Nelly, was that a second round series the Pens played or what? Everything you wanted in playoff games and then some. Crosby played like the best player in the NHL should play, Malkin was OK (in the last two games, at least) and Fleury….well let’s talk about Crosby again. Sergei Gonchar will be back and as good as ever as well. The Penguins are going to need the offense since they are going up against…
The Carolina Hurricanes. So far the Whal….Hurricanes have taken out the best goalie in hockey in Martin Brodeur, and the top seed in the East. The ‘Canes are not a scoring machine (only Eric Stall and Jussi Jokinen are in double digits in points), but they are riding a hot goaltender in Cam Ward. If there is one thing to fear in playoff hockey, it’s the hot goaltender (see Vernon, Mike).
Even though the Whal…I mean ‘Canes have Ward, it’s just not going to be enough. The Pens are just too offensively talented. Even with a shaky Fleury, it’s going to be the Penguins in 5.
Western Conference
1. Detroit Red Wings vs. 4) Chicago Blackhawks
Well, that was a close shave for the Wings. The Ducks pushed them to a Game 7, and near win that game as well. Franzen and Zetterberg lead the goal scoring and Ozzy has been good in net. The whole team can skate and score like no one else, and they have the defensive corps to back them up. Their biggest weakness was brought to the forefront by the Ducks: Physicality
That’s going to come in handy for the Blackhawks to know. They can score, a lot. The ‘Hawks outscored the Canucks 23-18 in the series (against Luongo even!), but in a shootout against the Red Wings, they have no prayer. If they can mix in some (OK, a lot) of physicality they’ll have a chance.
But that’s going to be it for the Blackhawks, a chance. They went 2-4 against the Wings in the regular season (I know it’s the playoffs, but it still matters). Even if Chicago hits Detroit hard and often, they’re up against a buzzsaw. Detroit in 6.
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me thinks you need to re-check who hit who more in that series. sparty(Quote)
still love that the “west” finals aren’t further west than chicago. and the bonus that games shouldn’t end at 3am locally sae(Quote)
sae- completely agree. very satisfied about that. sparty(Quote)
Cam Ward scares me. The guy has never lost a playoff series. Though he’s only been in 6 of them thus far. But still
Hopefully we’ll have a rematch of last year, but with different results though i still fear that the Pens still don’t have enough to beat detroit unless they suffer a devastating injury or Fluery plays out of his mind or some combination of the two Johnny(Quote)
Also I’m excited for the Staal vs. Staal matchup. Johnny(Quote)
BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!! mizerle06(Quote)
MIZ!!!!!!!!!!! sparty(Quote)
where!? mizerle06(Quote)
write a post. sparty(Quote)
the government will get mad at me. we don’t want that. mizerle06(Quote)
Sweet miz i work for the government too Johnny(Quote)
see, and johnny is here all the time. sparty(Quote)
johnny is probably desensitized to his fear of the government. I’m still very scared. mizerle06(Quote)
so…I’ve been out of the sports loop for about a full week. have the Cavs finished off the Hawks yet? is beisbol season over yet? mizerle06(Quote)
pussy sparty(Quote)
you are. mizerle06(Quote)
Only 543 Yankees-Sawx games to go. knightwhosaysni(Quote)
Takes a little while, but you’ll get over the fear. rekcalsa(Quote)
Both of your predictions could be spot on! But honestly, this was probably the easiest round for predictions (Who saw Carolina beating Boston??)
Nice blog. Burgundy(Quote)