2011 NHL Playoff Picks: Predicting How the 1st Round Will Play out
The Stanley Cup is thought to be the hardest trophy in professional sports to earn, and you can't win it if you don't get past that first round.
The Stanley Cup playoffs also create some of the best drama in professional sports because of how closely matched all the series are.
So here are some predictions as to how the first round will play out in both conferences.
West. No. 1 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 8 Chicago Blackhawks
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This rematch from last year's conference semifinals could provide us with some of the best drama in the playoffs this year.
The roles of these two teams are definitely reversed, as the Canucks are clearly favored, but you can't count the Hawks out of this one.
The Canucks won the season series 2-1-1, and the Blackhawks seemed to be one of the only teams that seemed to be able to stay close with the Canucks this year, but things are going to be very different this time around.
The Canucks are going to be rested and ready to go.
I'll take the Canucks in six games in this one.
West No. 2 San Jose Sharks vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Kings
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The San Jose Sharks are once again at the top of the Western Conference, but they did it in a very different way this time.
Rather than running away with the division early on, for a while it looked like the Sharks would be lucky to even be in the playoffs. Thanks to a very good run in the second half of the season, the Sharks were able to clinch their division, and a second seed late in the season.
Because of this, the Sharks are already in the right mindset going into the playoffs.
The Kings are working on a way to try and win games without their best player, Anze Kopitar.
Kopitar's injury may be the thing that spells the end for the Kings this year, as the Sharks are firing on all cylinders. Plus, San Jose now has a goalie that knows what it takes to win a Stanley Cup, and that will help them as well.
Kopitar's injury ends up being too much for LA to overcome, and the Sharks take this one in five games.
West No. 3 Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 6 Phoenix Coyotes
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Another playoff rematch from last season, the roles are reversed in this playoff series as well.
Though the teams are largely the same, the Red Wings have improved more this season than the Coyotes have.
The Coyotes still have Ilya Bryzgalov to make a big difference, but Jimmy Howard is a year older and wiser, and knows that his team is able to come through in pretty much every single situation.
Phoenix is still very big and physical, and can stick with the Red Wings anywhere, but the great unknown down in Phoenix is the ownership, and it has to create a certain amount of distraction.
The Red Wings can't be distracted, and will take this series in six games.
.png?w=256 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
West No. 4 Anaheim Ducks vs. No. 5 Nasvhille Predators
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This might be the best matchup of the first round.
It's very hard to find give an edge to either of these teams because they are so evenly matched. This series almost screams seven games right from the get go. So who has the edge?
Offense: The edge has to go to the Ducks. Corey Perry is the league's only 50-goal scorer, and is backed up by the likes of Bobby Ryan, Ryan Geztlaf and Teemu Selanne. All of those guys are also huge, and the Predator's leading scorer is a defenseman. Advantage Ducks.
Defense: The edge is definitely with the Predators on this one. As big as the forwards and scorers are for the Ducks, Shea Weber and crew are absolutely up for the challenge. Weber also bring a great presence on the power play that just kills their opponents.
Goalie: Clearly Predators. Pekka Rinne has had an absolutely stellar season and is second to Tim Thomas in pretty much every single meaningful goalie category. Rinne can win a game all by himself if he needs to, and while Ray Emery has played well for the Ducks since coming back, he is no match for Rinne.
In the end, defense wins you your series, and the Predators have the biggest edge there. I'll take Nashville in seven games.
East No. 1 Washington Capitals vs. No. 8 New York Rangers
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Last year the Capitals were knocked out in the first round by Montreal, largely because of a hot goalie. A similar fate could possibly befall them again this year as the take on Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers.
Lundqvist has been on fire while the Rangers made their run to squeeze into the playoffs, but will he be able to withstand the Capitals?
The big problem for the Capitals in the past has been that teams focused on taking away Ovechkin, and no real secondary scoring threat emerged. Couple that with some mediocre goal tending, and you have an early exit from the playoffs several years in a row.
Caps are 1-2-1 against the Rangers this year, and will have to find a way to solve the Rangers.
The Caps have already had to deal with Ovechkin not scoring as much as he has in the past during the regular season this year, and some good secondary scorers have emerged. Adding Jason Arnott to the lineup at the trade deadline was a very savvy move. Arnott adds depth and leadership to a team that doesn't know what it is like to make a run to the finals.
They also have Michal Neuvirth in goal, who they believe provides them with the solid number one goalie that can take them to the promised land.
In the end, I don't think the Rangers will be able to overcome the Caps, but they will make it interesting. I'll take the Capitals in six games.
East No. 2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. No. 7 Buffalo Sabres
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Buffalo is the hottest team in the NHL right now. They have won their last four games in a row, and were 8-1-1 in the last 10 games of the regular season. This hot finished propelled them into the seventh seed, after many people had written them off as not even going to make the playoffs.
Philly started the season on fire, and looked like they were going to run away with the Eastern Conference, possibly even threaten Vancouver for the President's Trophy. Ever since the All-Star break, the Flyers have stumbled, and just barely managed to win their division.
The Flyers are hoping to be able to go one step further than last year, and take the Stanley Cup home, but they will have their hands full even getting through the first round.
These two teams split the season series, with Buffalo winning the last two games.
It's hard to pick a winner in this one because Buffalo has been playing so well. They will have to be certain to not let down once the playoffs begin and keep the pressure up.
This is going to be a long series, and I think we'll see a big upset in this series. Buffalo will take this series in seven games.
East No. 3 Boston Bruins vs No. 6 Montreal Canadiens
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The league will be watching this series very carefully, and the players are certainly well aware of that.
Don't count on seeing any attempt at retribution for the hit on Max Pacioretty from Zdeno Chara; both teams are too smart to do anything like that in the middle of the playoffs.
At the same time, don't think that that means this series won't be physical. These are divisional rivals with a score to settle, you better believe that both teams are going to be physical for the duration of the series.
The Canadiens managed to take four of the games in the regular season series between these two teams, and Carey Price definitely wants to show that he's not just a regular season goalie.
These two teams know each other very well, so its hard to say who has the edge. I would expect this series to go the distance, and Montreal will continue their playoff magic with a seven-game victory.
East No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning
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On paper, one would think that it is almost impossible for the Penguins to overcome the Lightning in this series without their two best players.
At the same time, one would also think that it would be impossible for the Penguins to make the run that they did in the second half of the season without both Crosby and Malkin, yet it happened.
It happened largely in part to Marc-Andre Fleury, who really picked his game up knowing he had to be the big difference maker for the Penguins. Also, the Pens managed to get a lot of scoring from Jordan Staal and other players who have stepped up, but will they be enough to keep up with the Lightning?
The Pens and the Lightning split their season series, but played most of their games before Malkin and Crosby were both out of the line-up. The offensive edge definitely has to go to the Lightning, as they have all three of their big guns healthy and ready to go.
Fleury will have to be big in this series, as will the Pittsburgh penalty kill, but I just don't see them overcoming the offense of Tampa Bay. Lightning in six games.
.png?w=480 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
