NHL Playoffs 2012: Early Observations from the First Games

The 2012 NHL playoffs are in full swing with every team already having played their opening games (with the exception of New Jersey and Florida who open their series tonight), and there has been no shortage of excitement.

What many consider to be one of the most exciting events in all of sports has already lived up to that billing, with four of the first seven games being decided in overtime and none being won by more than two goals.

The parity that comes with the sport of hockey, where a hot goaltender can turn your team from pretender to contender in one night, is already lining up to make this one of the best playoffs in recent memory. And the teams are yet to even play their second game of their respective series!

It may be early, but here are a few observations to take note of as the games move forward.

Washington and LA will not be easy outs

Part of what makes the NHL playoffs so enjoyable to watch is the meaninglessness of team’s seeds. In no other competition does being the lower seed matter as little in terms of home ice advantage or even necessarily quality of the team.

So much depends on the abilities of your goalie in these playoffs that having the upper hand in that department could be enough to nullify any other advantage your opponent may have. Luckily for Washington and LA, their netminders impressed in their opening games.

The Los Angeles Kings were able to upset the number one seed Vancouver Canucks in their first meeting of the playoffs, beating them in Canada 4-2. L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick comes into the postseason with a resume that is worthy of the Vezina trophy and saved 24 of 26 shots from the West’s best.

The Kings have relied on him and their defense all season to get them to this point and will continue to as the series progresses. The four goals they scored was a rarity for the league’s worst offense, but so was conceding two goals for Quick, who averaged 1.95 allowed per game.

Over in the East, the Washington Capitals may have not gotten the win, but their 22-year-old goaltender Branden Holtby kept them in the game.

Playing in only his 22nd NHL game (his opposition, Tim Thomas, has played in as many playoff games), Holtby stepped up to the challenge, remaining defiant to the strong attack of the Boston Bruins. He was unbeatable on 29 of 30 shots, with the only goal against coming in overtime on a well-executed fast break by Boston. Even then he probably feels like he should have handled Chris Kelly’s slap shot better.

If Holtby continues to be the surprise star of the playoffs, and his teammates can figure a way to get to Boston’s net, there is a good chance we could see a Washington team that was left for dead not more than three weeks ago in the second round.

Since the NHL switched to the one through eight seeding system in 1994, nine times has a No. 8 gotten past a No. 1 (28.1 percent). So while the odds do not favor the underdog, there is certainly a chance and both these teams have it.

This is not the Flyers team of last year

Many Philly fans see last year’s playoffs as an utter embarrassment. Needing to win in game seven against the Buffalo Sabres to avoid a first-round upset, the Flyers probably had wished they had their season ended there, as they would go on to get swept by the Boston Bruins.

The Flyers cleared house in the summer, offloading the late-night partying duo of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. They brought in goalie Ilya Bryzgalov with the cap space to hopefully solidify their issues in goal as that being the cause of their playoff woes of recent memory.

But when the Flyers took to the ice at the beginning of the second period in Pittsburgh, they found themselves in the same position they had been in postseasons past, down 3-0 and being badly beat all over the arena.

But unlike in the past, there was a different swagger about this team that seemed to not acknowledge this defeat. With a little help from a missed offside, the Flyers turned a seemingly simple mistake by the Pens into their first goal and used it to spark them to life.

Philadelphia continued to pile on the pressure on Pittsburgh, getting to the net and taking control of the game. No longer would they be the whipping boys for their immensely talented rival to the west and made sure they left the impression that no lead is safe.

Their four unanswered goals gave them a 1-0 lead in the series, but more importantly announced to the league that this is not the same team, folding under the pressure, that everyone had gotten use to.

There is no clear cut favorite

As previously mentioned, parity rules the NHL playoffs. But this postseason seems to be more up in the air than in the past. I know it is still early, but it is hard to really pick a definitive alpha dog through the first games.

Out of the first seven games, three were won by lower seeds, two of the higher seeds who won needed overtime to do so. The Predators were only able to escape the Red Wings by some career highlight saves from Goalie Pekka Rinne. New York was the only team that won in convincing fashion and even then, the defense gave up far more shots than they would have liked.

The Capitals, Blues, Penguins and Canucks were all losers in their first games, but also possess some of the most immense talent in the entire league. There is absolutely no one who would be shocked if each were to turn around the next night and come away with a dominating win. With a game back already, few would also gasp at the notion that they could not make it to the second round.

It is all about parity in this game, and we may not have a better example of it than this year.

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