The NHL playoffs begin tomorrow, which means it's time for a preview of what's to come. I can't guarantee any of my predictions will be accurate, and it's more likely that I get more wrong than right.
#8 Boston Bruins v. #1 Montreal Canadiens
MON 3-2 BOS
MON 6-1 BOS
MON 2-1 BOS
MON 7-4 BOS
MON 4-2 BOS
MON 5-2 BOS
MON 8-2 BOS
MON 3-2 BOS
41-29-12, 94 points:Record:47-25-10, 104 points
4-2-4:Last 10:8-1-1
2.59:GFA:3.20
2.70:GAA:2.70
17.6%, 16th:PP:24.1%, 1st
78.6%, 28th:PK:82.5%, 15th
How can Boston win this series? They need to stop doing what caused them to lose every game in the season series. Judging by how dominant Montreal was, that probably won't be very easy. Patrice Bergeron will probably give them a little bit of a lift, but they're just not a very good team.
How can Montreal win this series? They need to deal with their injuries and not lose focus. They've had a couple players go down recently, but they still have pretty good depth. Their PP has been great all season, and they shouldn't have any problems scoring goals on Boston. Carey Price has been hot, and this is a good opportunity for him to get his feet wet in postseason play. Montreal will take this one in 5.
#7 Ottawa Senators v. #2 Pittsburgh Penguins
PIT 6-5 OTT
OTT 4-1 PIT
OTT 4-3 PIT
OTT 5-4 PIT
43-31-8, 94 points:Record:47-27-8, 102 points
3-6-1:Last 10:6-3-1
3.18:GFA: 3.01
3.01:GAA: 2.63
18.3%, 12th:PP:20.4%, 4th
81%, T22nd:PK:81.0%, T22nd
How can Ottawa win this series? Whoever is in net, probably Martin Gerber, needs to play the best hockey of his life. I know it's easy to say a goalie needs to play well for a team to win in the playoffs, but this is especially true for Ottawa. They haven't gotten consistent play from their goalies all season, whether it's Gerber or Ray Emery. Early in the season, their great scorers such as Alfredsson, who's injured, Spezza and Heatley could cover it up. However, as the season wore on, defense and goaltending just became a big issue. Pittsburgh has great goal scoring ability, and Gerber will have to steal some games for the Senators to have a chance.
How can Pittsburgh win this series? Execute on special teams. If their penalty killing improves, they'll gain a huge advantage on Ottawa. Their power play is great; they have a lot of players with tremendous skill, and they can really take advantage of Ottawa's weak penalty kill. Pittsburgh needs to just relax and play with energy. They're more talented than Ottawa, and the Sens are just in complete turmoil with injuries and this huge collapse they've had. I'll say Pittsburgh takes it in 5.
#5 New York Rangers v. #4 New Jersey Devils
NYR 2-0 NJD
NYR 2-1 NJD
NYR 4-2 NJD
NYR 1-0 NJD
NYR 3-1 NJD
NYR 2-1 NJD
NYR 3-2 NJD
NJD 3-2 NYR
How can the Rangers win this series? They need to score goals, and it's not going to be easy. They play a defensive, conservative system, even though they have very good scorers such as Jagr, Shanahan and Drury. In fact, only three playoff teams scored fewer goals than them, and the Devils are one of them. If they continue to sit back and just try and keep the Devils from scoring, I don't think they have a shot. If they want to match goalies and defensive systems against the Devils, they're going to lose. You can't beat Martin Brodeur at his own game.
How can the Devils win this series? New Jersey needs to stick to the system and play sound defensively. If they don't put Brodeur in too many bad spots, he'll have no problem carrying them to victory again. He's had success against the Rangers in the playoffs lately, and he can probably do it again. The Rangers don't have much firepower, and the Devils should be able to win 2-1, 1-0 and 3-2 games. Despite the season series, I think the Devils have the advantage and take this one in 6.
42-27-13, 97 points:Record:46-29-7, 99 points
5-1-4:Last 10:4-5-1
2.60:GFA:2.51
2.43:GAA:2.40
16.5%, 22nd:PP:15.6%, 25th
84.6%, 6th:PK:82.8%, 13th
#6 Philadelphia Flyers v. #3 Washington Capitals
PHI 3-2 WSH
WSH 4-3 PHI
PHI 6-4 WSH
WSH 4-3 PHI
42-29-11, 95 points:Record:43-31-8, 94 points
7-2-1:Last 10:9-1-0
3.02:GFA:2.95
2.84:GAA:2.82
21.8%, 2nd:PP:18.8%, T8th
83.2%, 10th:PK:80.5%, 25th
How can the Capitals win this series? If someone besides Alexander Ovechkin scores, the Flyers are in a lot of trouble. Ovechkin buries them in every single meeting, so it's safe to assume he's going to be a pain in the ass to Philadelphia all series. In addition to his contributions, if someone else on the team steps up and plays a great series, it's going to be tough to stop Washington. They can score a lot of goals, and guys like Mike Green can also bring a lot to the table. They have a very good PP, so if they can get opportunities there, the Capitals could run the Flyers out of the building.
How can the Flyers win this series? Stop Alexander Ovechkin. It's stupidly obvious, but as I just mentioned, he kills them. He scores a goal and racks up points every game, and it's almost like he's the only player on the other team. They need to find some way or some matchup to limit his contributions. Lines featuring Hartnell, Richards and Thoresen or Upshall, Carter and Knuble can both play responsible hockey, so one of those lines could be matched up against him. They need to hit him, knock the puck away, take away hot water from the visitor's looker room or something to keep him quiet. I think the Flyers get the upset here in 6 games.
After that, we would have 6 Philadelphia v. 1 Montreal. Montreal will take that easily in 5 games. 2 Pittsburgh will beat 4 New Jersey in 6.
Unfortunately for Flyers fans, the Pittsburgh Penguins will represent the East in the finals. They have stars up front that can pile up goals in bunches and passable defense and goaltending.
Showing posts with label new jersey devils. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new jersey devils. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
Game 81 and Hell Week Game 7: Devils at Flyersnh
New Jersey Devils: 45-28-7, 97 points
Philadelphia Flyers: 40-29-11, 91 points
Martin Brodeur v. Martin Biron
With only two games left in the regular season, the Flyers are in a desperate position. Tonight is absolutely a must win game. Just look at the last couple weeks around the league. No one is helping them out. No one is playing spoiler. It's going to come down to them playing good hockey, putting in a ton of energy and taking care of business themselves.
Martin Biron will be in net tonight. He has to summon back whatever made him great in the first couple weeks of the season and steal a game or two.
The Flyers are facing just one extra battle tonight; Danny Briere might be out with a knee injury. I know it's popular to say hockey players always play through injuries, it's an important game and Briere is very competitive, but MCL injuries can be serious. Even if he does suit up, he's not going to be playing at full strength. Other players are going to have to step up. Mike Richards has done it. Vinny Prospal has played well. Jeff Carter will have an expanded role, and Scott Hartnell hasn't put the puck in the net lately.
They need to find a way to score early and bury the Devils. They scored first in the previous meeting, but they couldn't hold the lead. They can't be put in a position where they need a late goal to tie the game. The Flyers have to take care of this one early by playing with a lot of energy from the drop of the puck.
Bill Meltzer has scratches. Let's go Flyers.
Philadelphia Flyers: 40-29-11, 91 points
Martin Brodeur v. Martin Biron
With only two games left in the regular season, the Flyers are in a desperate position. Tonight is absolutely a must win game. Just look at the last couple weeks around the league. No one is helping them out. No one is playing spoiler. It's going to come down to them playing good hockey, putting in a ton of energy and taking care of business themselves.
Martin Biron will be in net tonight. He has to summon back whatever made him great in the first couple weeks of the season and steal a game or two.
The Flyers are facing just one extra battle tonight; Danny Briere might be out with a knee injury. I know it's popular to say hockey players always play through injuries, it's an important game and Briere is very competitive, but MCL injuries can be serious. Even if he does suit up, he's not going to be playing at full strength. Other players are going to have to step up. Mike Richards has done it. Vinny Prospal has played well. Jeff Carter will have an expanded role, and Scott Hartnell hasn't put the puck in the net lately.
They need to find a way to score early and bury the Devils. They scored first in the previous meeting, but they couldn't hold the lead. They can't be put in a position where they need a late goal to tie the game. The Flyers have to take care of this one early by playing with a lot of energy from the drop of the puck.
Bill Meltzer has scratches. Let's go Flyers.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Game 78 and Hell Week Game 4: Flyers at Devils
Philadelphia Flyers: 39-28-10, 88 points
New Jersey Devils: 42-27-7, 91 points
Martin Biron v. Martin Brodeur
The Flyers have won their last four games, and they look to continue their hot streak against divisional opponents tonight against the Devils. After last night's almost disastrous scoreboard watching, here's where they stand. The Flyers are tied in points for the 7th seed with Boston, but they've had a lot of success against us this year, so they hold the tiebreaker. These two teams are three points behind New Jersey and New York, tied for the 5th-6th spots. Those two are one point behind Ottawa, who has played one more game than everyone else. At 86 points, Washington is still on everyone's tail.
Martin Biron will get a somewhat surprising start tonight. I know Stevens said it's likely he plays every game, but the Flyers are playing back to back, and if he was going to rest Biron, now would be the time considering how well he plays against the Islanders.
It's time to end the funk in and against New Jersey in general. The Flyers are 1-5-0 against them this year, and they haven't even been close games. For whatever reason, besides the year Philadelphia went to the Eastern Conference Finals, they just cannot beat the Devils. This goes back for years. No matter the players, captains, coaches, arenas, whatever, they just can't beat them. The only constant is Martin Brodeur.
Randy Jones says he'll be back tonight, and that'll help the defense. It would be great if Stevens would take Modry out of the lineup, but it's likely going to be Lasse Kukkonen, again. Kukkonen has been pretty good since the awful game against Pittsburgh, and against the Rangers, he showed toughness around the net and was hitting aggressively. Modry has been brutal since the trade, and there's absolutely no reason he should be in the lineup.
Here's Bill Meltzer, and apparently Ryan Parent is out of the lineup. Whatever.
New Jersey Devils: 42-27-7, 91 points
Martin Biron v. Martin Brodeur
The Flyers have won their last four games, and they look to continue their hot streak against divisional opponents tonight against the Devils. After last night's almost disastrous scoreboard watching, here's where they stand. The Flyers are tied in points for the 7th seed with Boston, but they've had a lot of success against us this year, so they hold the tiebreaker. These two teams are three points behind New Jersey and New York, tied for the 5th-6th spots. Those two are one point behind Ottawa, who has played one more game than everyone else. At 86 points, Washington is still on everyone's tail.
Martin Biron will get a somewhat surprising start tonight. I know Stevens said it's likely he plays every game, but the Flyers are playing back to back, and if he was going to rest Biron, now would be the time considering how well he plays against the Islanders.
It's time to end the funk in and against New Jersey in general. The Flyers are 1-5-0 against them this year, and they haven't even been close games. For whatever reason, besides the year Philadelphia went to the Eastern Conference Finals, they just cannot beat the Devils. This goes back for years. No matter the players, captains, coaches, arenas, whatever, they just can't beat them. The only constant is Martin Brodeur.
Randy Jones says he'll be back tonight, and that'll help the defense. It would be great if Stevens would take Modry out of the lineup, but it's likely going to be Lasse Kukkonen, again. Kukkonen has been pretty good since the awful game against Pittsburgh, and against the Rangers, he showed toughness around the net and was hitting aggressively. Modry has been brutal since the trade, and there's absolutely no reason he should be in the lineup.
Here's Bill Meltzer, and apparently Ryan Parent is out of the lineup. Whatever.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Deflating
The Flyers came in on a nice hot streak, but one question remained: can they beat the Devils? Last night was a resounding "no".
John Stevens said it's not a mental block, but I don't see how it could be anything else. The Flyers' PK is definitely not one of their strengths like last year, but allowing 5 PP goals in one game is horrendously bad, especially against a team struggling on the power play like New Jersey.
In an era where officials are competing against each other to call the most penalties, the penalty kill needs to be strong. The game is becoming more and more about special teams, and even though the Flyers have a lethal power play, their PK leaves much to be desired.
Not much has changed since last year's team in terms of penalty killers, so what's wrong? Simon Gagne is probably still recovering from his injury and getting his legs back. Hatcher is playing hurt, and that could be reducing his effectiveness. No matter how you slice it, things need to get better.
But what about the Devils? Fortunately, the Flyers only play them two more times this season, and those aren't for a couple of months. They need to get as many points against other teams as possible, so when it comes down to the last few weeks and the Atlantic Division marathon kicks in, the Flyers are in good position against their rivals to secure some home playoff games. Remember, the Flyers have been very successful against the Atlantic with the exception of the Devils, so there will be points to had to possibly win the division.
Can the Flyers be successful without beating the Devils? I think so. They just can't match up against them very well and string together a few wins in a row against them. A playoff series would be tough, and it's always hard to bet against Martin Brodeur. Hopefully someone else can knock them off.
John Stevens said it's not a mental block, but I don't see how it could be anything else. The Flyers' PK is definitely not one of their strengths like last year, but allowing 5 PP goals in one game is horrendously bad, especially against a team struggling on the power play like New Jersey.
In an era where officials are competing against each other to call the most penalties, the penalty kill needs to be strong. The game is becoming more and more about special teams, and even though the Flyers have a lethal power play, their PK leaves much to be desired.
Not much has changed since last year's team in terms of penalty killers, so what's wrong? Simon Gagne is probably still recovering from his injury and getting his legs back. Hatcher is playing hurt, and that could be reducing his effectiveness. No matter how you slice it, things need to get better.
But what about the Devils? Fortunately, the Flyers only play them two more times this season, and those aren't for a couple of months. They need to get as many points against other teams as possible, so when it comes down to the last few weeks and the Atlantic Division marathon kicks in, the Flyers are in good position against their rivals to secure some home playoff games. Remember, the Flyers have been very successful against the Atlantic with the exception of the Devils, so there will be points to had to possibly win the division.
Can the Flyers be successful without beating the Devils? I think so. They just can't match up against them very well and string together a few wins in a row against them. A playoff series would be tough, and it's always hard to bet against Martin Brodeur. Hopefully someone else can knock them off.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Game 47: Devils at Flyers
New Jersey Devils: 27-17-3, 57 points
Philadelphia Flyers: 26-15-5, 57 points
Martin Brodeur v. Antero Niittymaki
This is as big of a pre All-Star break game as you can get. The Devils and Flyers currently sit tied in second in the Atlantic Division, the league's best and most competitive. Whoever wins this game will take over first place for the time being, because the division leading Penguins are off tonight.
Antero Niittymaki will get his second straight start in goal tonight, after making 25 saves on 26 shots against the East-leading Senators on Sunday. He has posted a 6-0-1 record over the past month, and he's a huge reason why the Flyers are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
However, it seems that no matter how hot the Flyers or any individual player is, the true litmus test is how they stand up against the Devils. The Flyers are 1-4-0 against New Jersey this season, including dropping their last four. The Flyers cannot succeed in the playoffs unless they can overcome this mental block and beat the Devils.
The Flyers need to stay patient and avoid mistakes. New Jersey has always thrived off of taking advantage of turnovers and bad penalties, and it's important to stay out of the box and remained focus. It's well documented that the Devils are a tough team to come from behind against, so starting fast should be the Flyers' number one priority tonight.
Tonight's scratches, according to Bill Meltzer:
Lasse Kukkonen
Joffrey Lupul
Rory Fitzpatrick
Dennis Tolpeko has be reassigned to the Phantoms after recovering from his injury.
Philadelphia Flyers: 26-15-5, 57 points
Martin Brodeur v. Antero Niittymaki
This is as big of a pre All-Star break game as you can get. The Devils and Flyers currently sit tied in second in the Atlantic Division, the league's best and most competitive. Whoever wins this game will take over first place for the time being, because the division leading Penguins are off tonight.
Antero Niittymaki will get his second straight start in goal tonight, after making 25 saves on 26 shots against the East-leading Senators on Sunday. He has posted a 6-0-1 record over the past month, and he's a huge reason why the Flyers are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
However, it seems that no matter how hot the Flyers or any individual player is, the true litmus test is how they stand up against the Devils. The Flyers are 1-4-0 against New Jersey this season, including dropping their last four. The Flyers cannot succeed in the playoffs unless they can overcome this mental block and beat the Devils.
The Flyers need to stay patient and avoid mistakes. New Jersey has always thrived off of taking advantage of turnovers and bad penalties, and it's important to stay out of the box and remained focus. It's well documented that the Devils are a tough team to come from behind against, so starting fast should be the Flyers' number one priority tonight.
Tonight's scratches, according to Bill Meltzer:
Lasse Kukkonen
Joffrey Lupul
Rory Fitzpatrick
Dennis Tolpeko has be reassigned to the Phantoms after recovering from his injury.
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