East has been picked, and now it's time to look at the crystal ball for the West. Again, I'll be brief, since I have some suspicion that I have to return for some corrections later. Enjoy!
First round in the West. Canucks will take down the Kings, but it will take six games. They have too much firepower for LA and the goalies match evenly. Blues will carry on with their respectable regular season and shut down the Sharks in five. San Jose's inconsistency and exhaustion from the fight for the last playoff spots pave the way. Blackhawks will overpower the Coyotes in five games. These teams are quite similar, but Chicago is a bit better pretty much everywhere. Mike Smith is the best goaltender in this match up but it will not carry the team. Nashville Predators have the perfect opportunity to avenge all the losses in the hands of Detroit Red Wings. And that they will do, beating the banged up and tired Wings in straight four. Pekka Rinne will shut the door and let the four lines grind away the victories.
Second round in the West. Canucks will see their second Presidents' Trophy season end in vain too, this time in the hands of St. Louis Blues. The tight defensive system of the Blues combined with some below the expectations play by the Canucks will result in a Blues victory in six games. Predators will outlast the Blackhawks in seven games. Preds win the defensive games, Hawks will take a few guns blazing. In the end it all comes down to massive difference in goal and Rinne will carry the team to West finals.
Third round in the West. Nashville Predators has ended up with a dream team for their style of play this season. They will fight against somewhat similar style of the Blues and will emerge victorious in six games. They go for the ultimate finals in search for the Stanley Cup but also with a lot on line in regards of keeping their lineup together for the following seasons.
Showing posts with label Red Wings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Red Wings. Show all posts
2012/04/11
2012/04/05
Playoff race - Apr 5 - Calm before the storm
Wednesday night in NHL was quiet in NHL. Only two games and out of them, only one had teams that will continue to the postseason. Detroit Red Wings took the two points in a shootout win over division leading St. Louis Blues. This takes the Wings back to home ice. The battle for Western fourth place continues until the end with the Nashville Predators.
While Wednesday was calm, the storm will break loose on Thursday. This is a straightforward day for many teams. Winning is the only option for survival. Playoff chances are on the line for Dallas and Colorado, who are already beyond having the control to themselves. A win today may postpone the inevitable, and keep the slight hopes for miracles alive.
There's big clashes on both conferences. Washington will meet Florida in the Southeast division battle. One point for the Panthers will give them the crown and a long sought after playoff berth. A loss here keeps them wondering. Both teams need to peek at the scoreboards for happenings in Philadelphia, where Buffalo Sabres continue their desperate push to overtake either of the teams.
At the same time in the West, San Jose and Los Angeles will duel the first part of home and home to finish off the season. Winner there will take over the Pacific lead and third seed in the West.
The rest of the teams who are already destined for playoffs have interesting matchups, setting the tone and sending the final messages for the potential playoff foes. A good round of hockey!
While Wednesday was calm, the storm will break loose on Thursday. This is a straightforward day for many teams. Winning is the only option for survival. Playoff chances are on the line for Dallas and Colorado, who are already beyond having the control to themselves. A win today may postpone the inevitable, and keep the slight hopes for miracles alive.
There's big clashes on both conferences. Washington will meet Florida in the Southeast division battle. One point for the Panthers will give them the crown and a long sought after playoff berth. A loss here keeps them wondering. Both teams need to peek at the scoreboards for happenings in Philadelphia, where Buffalo Sabres continue their desperate push to overtake either of the teams.
At the same time in the West, San Jose and Los Angeles will duel the first part of home and home to finish off the season. Winner there will take over the Pacific lead and third seed in the West.
The rest of the teams who are already destined for playoffs have interesting matchups, setting the tone and sending the final messages for the potential playoff foes. A good round of hockey!
2012/03/10
Playoff race - Mar 10 - Plot thickens
Last night's action had all the expectations for evenly matched games. An even they were. Three of four were decided by one goal, one in shootout and the other two by goals in last two minutes. However, the game with most on the line was between Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets. Both outside of the playoff crowd, but within striking distance. The Jets could have jumped over Washington to regain the Eastern conference's eighth position and to end up within one victory of the division lead and home ice advantage. The Flames had a chance to get within one point of the eighth spot in the West. Calgary ended up victorious with strong play of their veteran core, Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen. Now both teams stand ninth in their conference and keep on firing on all possible cylinders to make it to the postseason.
At the same time Los Angeles Kings failed to outplay dramatically injured Detroit Red Wings. The Wings' play was outstanding and their remaining star forwards Zetterberg and Filppula delvered when needed. LA is now tied with Calgary on the Western ninth position and seems to have lost their recently discovered edge in the last few games.
On the top of the league NY Rangers have hit some sort of a funk, losing third straight and Pittsburgh Penguins keep on rolling behind strong performances from their leading players Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. Penguins' winning streak reached eight games.
All in all, the playoff bubble is as exiting as it can be on both conferences and almost every night sees one team lose its playoff position to another. It's going to be fun to keep following events and blogging the latest highlights.
At the same time Los Angeles Kings failed to outplay dramatically injured Detroit Red Wings. The Wings' play was outstanding and their remaining star forwards Zetterberg and Filppula delvered when needed. LA is now tied with Calgary on the Western ninth position and seems to have lost their recently discovered edge in the last few games.
On the top of the league NY Rangers have hit some sort of a funk, losing third straight and Pittsburgh Penguins keep on rolling behind strong performances from their leading players Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. Penguins' winning streak reached eight games.
All in all, the playoff bubble is as exiting as it can be on both conferences and almost every night sees one team lose its playoff position to another. It's going to be fun to keep following events and blogging the latest highlights.
2012/03/05
Playoff race - Mar 5 - Postseason previews and Western bubble
Last night there were a couple of early previews of potential big matchups in the postseason. League's top team, New York Rangers, took a tasty victory against last season's Cup champions and always dangerous Boston Bruins. This tight game could have gone either way, but Rangers seem to have the upper hand while heading to the playoffs.
Perennial Western powerhouse Detroit took a stingy defeat at home against 2010 champions Chicago Blackhawks. Another one goal game, but at the same time a strong message saying that the Hawks may have put their struggles behind them and are again a force to be reckoned with. When they get healthy Jonathan Toews back to the lineup, even more so. How will the Wings' aging core survive the last stretch of regular season and playoffs, remains to be seen
Western conference playoff bubble seems to come down to San Jose's recent slump. If they can't snap out of it, there's a few teams willing to take the last spot. Los Angeles Kings seem like the strongest candidate for now, having discovered some scoring touch lately. Also Colorado Avalanche is playing well with their young corps leading the way. Calgary took another costly defeat last night in the hands of Dallas stars, but managed to salvage one point for overtime. Their recent play is not on the level to overtake the others in this race. Anaheim was super strong during February, but their chances are extremely slim after couple of losses in the last weeks. Only a miraculous win streak could postpone the Ducks' offseason golf plans.
Perennial Western powerhouse Detroit took a stingy defeat at home against 2010 champions Chicago Blackhawks. Another one goal game, but at the same time a strong message saying that the Hawks may have put their struggles behind them and are again a force to be reckoned with. When they get healthy Jonathan Toews back to the lineup, even more so. How will the Wings' aging core survive the last stretch of regular season and playoffs, remains to be seen
Western conference playoff bubble seems to come down to San Jose's recent slump. If they can't snap out of it, there's a few teams willing to take the last spot. Los Angeles Kings seem like the strongest candidate for now, having discovered some scoring touch lately. Also Colorado Avalanche is playing well with their young corps leading the way. Calgary took another costly defeat last night in the hands of Dallas stars, but managed to salvage one point for overtime. Their recent play is not on the level to overtake the others in this race. Anaheim was super strong during February, but their chances are extremely slim after couple of losses in the last weeks. Only a miraculous win streak could postpone the Ducks' offseason golf plans.
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