(1) Montreal (47-25-10, 104 pts)
(6) Philadelphia (42-29-11, 95 pts)
RESULTS OF 2007-2008 REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS
DATE SCORE
NOV. 1 PHILADELPHIA 2 AT MONTREAL 5
DEC. 13 MONTREAL 4 AT PHILADELPHIA 1
FEB. 16 PHILADELPHIA 0 AT MONTREAL 1
FEB. 17 MONTREAL 5 AT PHILADELPHIA 3
GP W L OTL GF GA PTSMontreal was out-coached in round one, and their incredible regular season power play was exposed and solved. Mind you the Flyers don't have the great equalizer on defense like Boston does in Zdeno Chara. Strangely enough, Montreal did find their penalty kill game though. All that changes with a new opponent usually.
MONTREAL 4 4 0 0 15 6 8
PHILADELPHIA 4 0 4 0 6 15 0
SPECIAL TEAMS -POWER PLAY- ---SHORT HANDED---
PP GF PP% TS GA PK% GF GA
MONTREAL 25 6 24.0% 23 3 87.0% 1 1
PHILADELPHIA 23 3 13.0% 25 6 76.0% 1 1
In fact, the Flyers defense scares me a bit, as they are quite slow-footed. Montreal doesn't have an Alexander Ovechkin, but they do have more team speed than Washington, and the Capitals really exposed the Philly blue line weakness at times.
I expect Frenchmen Daniel Briere and Martin Biron to have big series in Montreal. The Canadiens will have to have someone step it up.
This is a tough call. I'm going to go with Montreal in seven. Philly has played their best, Montreal hasn't. And the hockey gods seem to be with them this season.
(2) Pittsburgh (47-27-8, 102 pts)
(5) NY Rangers (42-27-13, 97 pts)
RESULTS OF 2007-2008 REGULAR SEASON MEETINGSThe NY Rangers held a slight advantage in the regular season head-to-head series. But in many respects the regular season was long ago, and a look at current playoff stats paints a different picture.
DATE SCORE
OCT. 23 NY RANGERS 0 AT PITTSBURGH 1
NOV. 8 PITTSBURGH 2 AT NY RANGERS 4
NOV. 17 NY RANGERS 4 AT PITTSBURGH 3 (OT)
DEC. 18 PITTSBURGH 0 AT NY RANGERS 4
JAN. 14 NY RANGERS 1 AT PITTSBURGH 4
MAR. 18 PITTSBURGH 2 AT NY RANGERS 5
MAR. 30 NY RANGERS 1 AT PITTSBURGH 3
MAR. 31 PITTSBURGH 1 AT NY RANGERS 2 (OT)
GP W L OTL GF GA PTS
PITTSBURGH 8 3 3 2 16 21 8
NY RANGERS 8 5 3 0 21 16 10
SPECIAL TEAMS -POWER PLAY- ---SHORT HANDED---
PP GF PP% TS GA PK% GF GA
PITTSBURGH 35 5 14.3% 42 9 78.6% 1 1
NY RANGERS 42 9 21.4% 35 5 85.7% 1 1
This series will undoubtedly be a high scoring affair, and that might be the way the Penguins want it. These two teams had the highest goals per game average after round one - Pittsburgh at 4.00 and New York at 3.80. The teams also rank 3rd and 4th in PP% after round one, Pittsburgh at 26.1 and New York at 23.5.
On the flip side, the Penguins also had the best goals against per game average at 1.25, though playing the floundering Ottawa Senators helped. The Rangers came in at 2.40. Pittsburgh also has the top PK in the playoffs, at 92.3%. The Rangers are a less than impressive 79.2%.
Though the stats seem to suggest Pittsburgh, I'm going to pick the New York Rangers to win this series. Call it the intangible factor. Most great teams have a playoff learning curve to go through, usually involving a playoff disappointment or two. The Penguins have arrived as legitimate Cup threats, but have not really faced adversity. Are Crosby and Malkin good enough to get past playoff warriors like Chris Drury, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Gomez and company? How will Crosby respond to Sean Avery?
I think the Rangers have a more balanced attack and a better goalie. New York Rangers in six.
(1) Detroit (54-21-7, 115 pts)
(6) Colorado (44-31-7, 95 pts)
RESULTS OF 2007-2008 REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS
DATE SCORE
DEC. 27 DETROIT 4 AT COLORADO 2
JAN. 8 COLORADO 0 AT DETROIT 1
FEB. 1 COLORADO 0 AT DETROIT 2
FEB. 18 DETROIT 4 AT COLORADO 0
GP W L OTL GF GA PTS
DETROIT 4 4 0 0 11 2 8
COLORADO 4 0 4 0 2 11 0
SPECIAL TEAMS -POWER PLAY- ---SHORT HANDED---
PP GF PP% TS GA PK% GF GA
DETROIT 13 2 15.4% 11 0 100.0% 0 0
COLORADO 11 0 0.0% 13 2 84.6% 0 0
Detroit owned Colorado this season, but that was all before the return of Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote and the injured Joe Sakic. Can the Avalanche reunion upset the new generation of Red Wings for one last hurrah? All those aging warriors vs. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg? Unless injuries occur, let's say Advantage: Even.
Detroit's biggest question mark is supposedly in goal. I like Chris Osgood, and I hope he does well and finally earns a little respect in this league. But I also suspect he's on a short leash. Jose Theodore has returned to former glories. Advantage Colorado.
Colorado's power play has struggled all season long, while Detroit's PK has been consistently very good. Advantage Detroit.
Detroit's defense is led by a rested Niklas Lidstrom, the best player in the series. With Colorado's defense banged up a bit, I think Detroit gets the advantage here.
I hesitate to do this, because I didn't think the Red Wings would get past round 2 in the playoffs. But I like them against Colorado, mainly because of special teams and Lidstrom. Detroit in six.
(2) San Jose (49-23-10, 108 pts)
(5) Dallas (45-30-7, 97 pts)
This is a tough one. Very evenly played regular season head-t0-head matchup, but Dallas' power play has come alive in the playoffs while San Jose's penalty kill was brutal against Calgary.
RESULTS OF 2007-2008 REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS
DATE SCORE
OCT. 29 SAN JOSE 4 AT DALLAS 2
NOV. 7 DALLAS 3 AT SAN JOSE 1
NOV. 14 SAN JOSE 4 AT DALLAS 3 (SO)
DEC. 5 SAN JOSE 3 AT DALLAS 2
DEC. 15 DALLAS 4 AT SAN JOSE 2
JAN. 17 DALLAS 4 AT SAN JOSE 2
MAR. 27 DALLAS 2 AT SAN JOSE 3 (OT)
APR. 6 SAN JOSE 2 AT DALLAS 4
GP W L OTL GF GA PTS
SAN JOSE 8 4 4 0 21 24 8
DALLAS 8 4 2 2 24 21 10
SPECIAL TEAMS -POWER PLAY- ---SHORT HANDED---
PP GF PP% TS GA PK% GF GA
SAN JOSE 45 7 15.6% 36 4 88.9% 0 1
DALLAS 36 4 11.1% 45 7 84.4% 1 0
In net I like Marty Turco over Evgeny Nabokov, although by no huge margin.
If Sergei Zubov was playing, I'd take Dallas over San Jose. But without him, San Jose's large forwards will be eager to impose themselves on Dallas young, no-name defense. That defense came through brilliantly in round one against Anaheim.
I'm going to have go against my hunch again, and pick San Jose to win. San Jose in six.
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