Eastern Conference First Round Matchups
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Ahhhh, the playoffs are finally here and Round 1 is full of intriguing matchups. No team is guaranteed to move on in this era of parity, but some are definite favorites.
(1) Washington (54-15-13, 121 pts) vs. (8) Montreal (39-33-10, 88 pts)
Regular season series (Series tied 2-2)
Nov 20, 2009 Montreal 3, Washington 2
Nov 28, 2009 Washington 4, Montreal 3
Jan 5, 2010 Montreal 2, Washington 4
Feb 10, 2010 Washington 5, Montreal 6
Well, this appears to be a mismatch of epic proportions. The Capitals were the best home team and best road team in the NHL this season. They can win anywhere.
The Capitals finished the regular season with at 6-1-3 record in their last 10 games while the Canadiens were 3-4-3.
Washington had a +85 goal differential during the regular season and Montreal was -6.
Need any more stats to prove Washington’s dominance? Didn’t think so.
The difference in this series will be the play of Jaroslav Halak who carried the Habs to the post season.
The Canadiens will not be able to hang with the Caps offensively especially with Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta doing a disappearing act down the stretch. Alex Ovechkin and his supporting cast of Mike Green, Alex Semin, Nicklas Backstom and Mike Knuble will be too much and Seymon Varlamov OR Jose Theodore won’t need to do much.
Pick: Washington in 5
(2) New Jersey (48-27-7, 103 pts) vs. (7) Philadelphia (41-35-6, 88 pts)
Regular season series (Flyers leads 5-1)
Oct 3, 2009 Philadelphia 5, New Jersey 2
Nov 16, 2009 New Jersey 2, Philadelphia 3
Dec 12, 2009 Philadelphia 1, New Jersey 4
Feb 8, 2010 New Jersey 2, Philadelphia 3
Feb 10, 2010 Philadelphia 3, New Jersey 2
Mar 28, 2010 New Jersey 1, Philadelphia 5
The Flyers barely qualified for the post season and must be happy to see a team that they owned all season as their first round matchup.
Still, there are issues around goaltending and the question of whether Brian Boucher or Johan Backlund will be the starter.
Philadelphia goes into the playoffs having gone 4-5-1 in their last 10 games while New Jersey was 5-2-3.
The New Jersey Devils posess two game changing players on their roster – Ilya Kovalchuk and Martin Brodeur.
The Flyers have a banged up Mike Richards. With Kovalchuk and a decent supporting cast, the Devils will score enough and put the game in Martin Bordeur’s hands – and why not?
Pick: New Jersey Devils in a hard fought 6
(3) Buffalo (45-27-10, 100 pts) vs. (6) Boston (39-30-13, 91 pts)
Regular season series (Bruins leads 4-2)
Nov 7, 2009 Buffalo 2, Boston 4
Nov 20, 2009 Boston 2, Buffalo 1
Jan 29, 2010 Boston 1, Buffalo 2
Feb 9, 2010 Boston 3, Buffalo 2
Mar 29, 2010 Buffalo 3, Boston 2
Apr 8, 2010 Buffalo 1, Boston 3
The Battle of the B’s is one of the more interesting first round matchups.
The Sabres and Bruins have largely ridden great goaltending to their place in the post season. Both teams went through down times this season but finished strong.
Buffalo was a pedestrian 5-5 in their last 10 games while Boston picked up their play and went 6-3-1 in their last 10.
This is going to be a goaltending duel to the end. The Sabres Ryan Miller (2.22 goals allowed and .929 save percentage) squares off with the Bruins and Finnish goaltender Tuuka Rask (1.9 goals allowed and .931 save percentage).
With an apparent lack of scoring on both teams, especially with Tim Connolly and Thomas Vanek injured for Buffalo and the Bruins inability to improve upon their 30th ranked offense, goaltending will be the key.
I’ll take Ryan Miller any day!
Pick: Buffalo Sabres in 6
(4) Pittsburgh (47-28-7, 101 pts) vs. (5) Ottawa (44-32-6, 94 pts)
Regular season series (Series tied 2-2)
Oct 12, 2009 Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 1
Nov 19, 2009 Pittsburgh 2, Ottawa 6
Dec 23, 2009 Ottawa 2, Pittsburgh 8
Jan 28, 2010 Ottawa 4, Pittsburgh 1
This series in another tough one to call. In the pre-season there would have been no argument.
The Ottawa Senators have been the streakiest team in the NHL this season and there is no way to tell which team is going to show up. The Penguins have the best player in the game, probably one of the most complete teams in the NHL and have the experience of two straight Cup appearances on their side.
The Ottawa Senators went 7-2-1 in their last 10 games while the Pens went 5-4-1.
This series hinges on a few different factors. How much will the Senators miss Alexi Kovalev? How will rookie goaltender Brian Elliot stand up to the pressure?
And Can the Sens succeed on the road (18-21-2 in the regular season)?
For the Penguins, they have not put together a streak in a while and will need to get on one pronto! Remember, if they get by the Sens, they will likely face one of two teams that swept them during the regular season Washington or New Jersey.
Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins in 6
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