NHL Playoffs...Recap and Analysis

My, oh my, oh my, have things changed since our last look into the NHL playoffs. A remarkably thrilling and "edge of your seat" type of first round was surely a precursor to an even more exciting second round. Yours truly broke down the second round and promised nothing but the best. For that, I certainly apologize. I am a die hard NHL fan. I'm talking the type of guy that watches before the playoffs.... watches before CBS picks the games up on Sundays. (By games, I mean the Red Wings, Flyers, or Rangers, of course). But wow. Thankfully the Red Wings came back from down 3-0 to the Sharks to make some excitement in round 2. Of course I have to eat a little crow, as my previous predictions were, well, less than stellar...

I had the Wings, Predators, Capitals, Hawks, Sharks, Sabres, Bruins, and Penguins advancing from the first round. I'll switch over to baseball and call it .625, which is pretty damn good. Round 2 was a straight yawner the entire way through, as the Bruins and Lightning swept the series with ease. Where did the Washington Capitals go? Where do they go each and every spring? This team is consistently the best in the league, and has now been swept by a lesser opponent 2 seasons in a row. The brass in Washington are being pressured to make it happen now, and to please the masses. They are going to have to make some high profile moves in the off season. The current squad clearly does not have the playoff swagger necessary for winning 16 playoff games.

The Bruins advancing was not really surprising, but the fact that they swept their nemesis from Philly was intriguing. They have solid tending in Tim Thomas, and a fairly deep roster of guys who know what they're doing in crunch time. Like I said going into round 1, the Flyers lack of a top tier goaltender and their aging roster just isn't cup worthy. Be prepared for some major retooling here as well, after back to back treks into the playoffs, this team is on the downswing.

Nashville put up a fight to the heavily favored Canucks, and there was a slight hint to the playoff collapse (see Washington Capitals) which the Canucks have been known for as of late. But once the smoke cleared, the veteran leadership prevailed, and the Preds just showed the league that they are merely a few keystone pieces away from being a real cup contender for the next 2-3 seasons. A solid influx of talent coming from the Admirals system is ready to help out next season.

In the final series, San Jose jumped out to a surprising 3 game lead. While the effort from the Red Wings was remarkable, and dare I say actually enjoyable to watch, it almost felt as though the Sharks were just playing it light until putting the nail in the coffin in game 7. Not the way they would have drawn it up, but the Red Wings never really gave me the feeling of being able to take control of the Sharks.

So here we go... another shot at the prediction game....

Tampa Bay Lightning - Boston Bruins (Series tied 1-1)

I haven't exactly been a believer of the Tampa Bay Lightning at all this season. They have flashes, but just don't seem to be a champion in my eyes. Their saving grace thus far has been the dinosaur Dwayne Roloson in net, and their spectacular coaching. Without a doubt, TB is the best coached team to this point, be it systems play, matchups, or lineup moves. I don't think they have enough to take it to the cup finals, however. Tim Thomas is a veteran goalie with a crazy unorthodox style (see Dominik Hasek), which this beat writer doesn't particularly enjoy, but respects highly. The Bruins have a better lineup top to bottom, and the return of rookie Tyler Seguin makes them that much more dangerous. He showed his impact tonight, netting 2 and helping on 2 other goals. The kid can flat out play, and he makes everyone around him better. He is the difference maker in the series. Roly the goalie holds Tampa in it, but Boston prevails 4-2.

Vancouver Canucks - San Jose Sharks ( Vancouver leads 1-0)

You don't want to put a series on the shoulders of any 1 individual, but I am going to do so on this occasion.... twice. This series sits between the pipes on both ends of the ice. Antti Niemi and Roberto Luongo can win or lose this series for their respective teams. Both offenses are powerhouses, and both defenses are solid. Luongo is the better goalie, but has not seen the type of playoff success necessary to be called a winner. It also doesn't help his cause that he has basically always had the best team in the league playing in front of him, and still not managed to win. He has been big this far into the playoffs, but can he finally take that step forward into goaltendings elite? Antti Niemi isn't as talented as Luongo, but when he has some support in front of him, has proven he can win. He won the cup last year with the best team in hockey in front of him, and was superb when he needed to be. He is in a very similar situation with San Jose. They have a winning team playing in front of him, so he only needs to be good, not great. If Niemi can stand on his head and make some of the saves like he did in last year's cup finals, the Sharks have the advantage. I bite my tongue and swallow my pride.... Niemi comes up big in game 6 to stave off elimination, and Joe (all I do is net playoff overtime goals) Pavelski is the hero in game 7 to take the big fish into the Stanley Cup Finals.

When all is said and done, the one thing you can count on this season in hockey is unpredictability. The sure things get swept 4-0, the kids look like seasoned pros, the impossible is standard, and the old timers look like 18 year old kids. Anything is possible, anything WILL happen, and the excitement will come. Look for this round to be gritty, high scoring, and much more exciting than the previous. I encourage everyone to watch, and I look forward to telling you I told ya so.