With the first round of the NHL playoffs in the books, the guys give their previews of the next round, and Sharkey and ManInBlack look back on what they got right and wrong in their first round preview.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

The Eastern Conference was not kind to the maninblack or sharkey, with MIB going 2-4 and sharkey going 1-3 in the first round.  Both whiffed on the Montreal & Boston victories and, adding insult to injury, sharkey wrongly chose his Devils to advance to the next round.

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs #8 Montreal Canadiens

Sharkey Says:

Which of these emotions do you think is more prevalent in Penguin fans more at this very moment:  total exuberance at the Washington Capitals unexpected elimination, or complete fear that Jaroslav Halak is 100% capable of doing the exact same thing to them?

Legends are born out of runs like Halak had his last three games.  He single-handedly guided his 8th seeded team to a series victory, overcoming a 3-1 deficit, and upsetting the President’s Trophy winners in the process.  The entire hockey world outside of western Pennsylvania is backing these Montreal Canadiens.  And while on paper they shouldn’t have a shot in this one, stranger things have happened.

Unfortunately the realist in me comes out now.  Halak is a great story, and I don’t expect him to just suddenly stop being a better-than-solid goaltender, but I don’t see Montreal pulling off the 2nd straight upset.

Pittsburgh has too much talent; and now they see a wide-open Eastern Conference that is clearly theirs for the taking.  I expect Pittsburgh to come out hard & fast, and take control of this series from the start.  Plus, I picked them to win the Cup before the playoffs started.  I can’t go back on that now.

Penguins in 5

ManInBlack Says:

After watching Halak stop the Capitals time and time again, relegating their power play moot, stopping Ovechkin from being anything resembling his usually productive self, I have one thought:  He can’t possibly do it again.

Call me cynical.  Call me a non-believer.  I have a hard time believing the Canadiens will be able to stop that sort of offensive firepower two series in a row.  Halak was benched during the series and came back to have one of the best three-game runs in recent memory.  But he wasn’t that impressive early on, and the Penguins will be rested after they finished their series earlier in the week.  Even if Halak comes out strong in game 1, I think he’ll be hard-pressed to keep up the pace throughout a 7-game series.

The series will come down to two things:  defense and goaltending.  Montreal has both.  It remains to be seen whether the Penguins have either.  Last year, the Pens won a lot of games because of Marc-Andre Fleury.  This year, it wouldn’t be out of line to say they’ve won in spite of him.  And the Penguins’ defense has been suspect, due largely in part to the loss of their best defensive pairing from last year’s playoffs.  Rob Scuderi had a solid season with the Kings.  The other player they lost, Hal Gill, has been a monster on the blue-line for, you guessed it, the Montreal Canadiens.  Not only is he a reliable stay-at-home presence, he is extremely familiar with the Penguins’ style of play.  That could cause problems if the Pens take the same approach as the Capitals trying to simply outscore them and ignoring defense altogether.

Overall, I think the Pens come out strong and take advantage of a relatively tired Montreal team.   Halak may catch lightning twice, but not for a full series.

Pittsburgh in 6

 

Doozer Says:

Honestly, I’m glad these two both have teams that play in the Eastern Conference, because it doesn’t seem like I can ever catch a game that doesn’t include the Penguins or Capitals, who I hate and don’t care about, respectively.  Needless to say, I don’t keep up with the East like the West.

With that said, I’ll simply pick who I want to win, with no logical reason other than I hate the other team.

The Over-saturated One, Sidney Crosby, ruined my gold medal dreams.  Montreal in 7.

#6 Boston Bruins vs #7 Philadelphia Flyers

Sharkey Says:

Only two weeks ago I debated right here why it was crazy to think that the Flyers could beat the Devils.  I argued to no end that an upset just wasn’t possible, and that this Devils team would surely be alive for round 2.

Not only was I wrong, and not only are the Devils playing golf right now, but they were without question the worst of all 16 playoff teams in the last two weeks.

All the credit for that must go to Philadelphia.  They played fantastically.  Chris Pronger carried Edmonton to the finals (with help from Roloson) in ’06, and he carried the Ducks to the Cup in ’07, and if the Bruins, Penguins & Canadiens aren’t careful, the Flyers will shortly be joining that list.

Unlike the Pittsburgh/Montreal series, there is not clear favorite in this one.  Neither team is better than the other, on paper or on ice.  You can’t make the claim that one or the other is playing better hockey right now.  These are two evenly matched teams who, despite their lower seeds, deserve this shot to play themselves into the Eastern Conference Finals.

To me, this entire series boils down to Brian Boucher.  Can he play like he did last round?  Which was like he did in 2000?  If so, Philly moves on.  If not, it’s Boston.

I’ll take Boucher.  Philly in 7.

ManInBlack Says:

I’m not as optimistic on Boucher as sharkey is, and that’s why I’m going the other way.  Boston got good enough defense to repeatedly frustrate the Sabres, and had enough offense to light up one of the best goaltenders in the league.

Maybe its me.  I can’t get over the fact that Philly had to play a defacto play-in game with the Rangers to even make the playoffs.  Or maybe its my lack of faith that Boucher can continue to play the way he played against the Devils.  Or the fact that I just don’t think the Flyers are that good.  If Philly makes it to the Conference Final, it will be one of the more impressive runs in recent years.  Nothing impresses me about Philly.

Boston in 5

Doozer Says:

This one is a no brainer.  It would also complete my dream of an all Original 6 Conference Final.  Plus, I would love to see the Bruins rip the hearts out of Philadelphia’s wretched fan base.

With nothing more to add other than pure hatred for the obnoxious fans of such an awesome city, I’ll take Bruins in 4.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Meanwhile, out west, the ManInBlack was wrong only in picking Colorado to beat San Jose in the first round, and was correct in having Vancouver advance in 6 games.  Sharkey was a perfect 4 for 4 in the first round of the Western playoffs, while having the game totals correct in the San Jose/Colorado series, as well as the Phoenix/Detroit series.

#1 San Jose Sharks vs #5 Detroit Red Wings

Sharkey Says:

The common misconception about the Sharks is that they can’t win a playoff series; that they choke once the playoffs begin.  The fact is, their round 1 victory over Colorado should have caught nobody by surprise.  This is a team that, including this year, has advanced out of the first round 7 times (in 9 seasons) since the turn of the century.

Where San Jose struggles is this upcoming round, where they are 1-7 all-time.  Their only trip to the Conference Finals was in 2004, where they lost to the Calgary Flames.

Meanwhile, Detroit’s playoff history is well documented.  The team is looking to become the first Three-Peat conference champions since Edmonton did it in ’83-’85.

Before the playoffs began, I had Detroit beating San Jose in this series.  My line of thinking hasn’t changed after watching these two teams in the first round.  Yes, Detroit went 7 games, but you can make the case that Phoenix is better than both San Jose and Colorado (SJ’s Round 1 opponent).  However, Detroit has a lot of momentum going for them now, as well as a significant advantage in talent & experience.

Can San Jose win?  Yes, but until this current roster proves it can overcome the 2nd round hump, I can’t pick them to do so.

Red Wings in 6

ManInBlack Says:

Ugh.  I don’t like this matchup.  The Sharks proved me wrong in the first round by taking care of business against Colorado.  And while I picked the Red Wings to advance, I have to admit during game seven I was rooting for the underdog Coyotes.  And yes, they were underdogs despite having the higher seed.

Detroit went to seven games against a good team with a hot goaltender.  They’re probably a little worn down.  Plus, they have a rookie netminder.  I don’t trust rookie goaltenders to go the distance in the playoffs.  But nothing about San Jose instills the confidence in me to call for a Sharks win.  I want to pick the Sharks in this series.  But I just can’t.

Detroit in 7

 

Doozer Says:

First, I hate the fact Detroit is in the Western Conference.  This staying up late nonsense to watch West Coast games is for the birds.  And it’s even worse if they go into OT.  There’s no way I can expect to even get out of bed in the morning if I’m up until 2-3 AM the night before.  I’m hoping Detroit can end this in 4.  That said, I won’t be holding my breath.

I have to admit, I was pretty critical of the Detroit Penalty Kill a few weeks backs, after they gave up 3 goals on the PK in game 1.  Since then, Phoenix was 0 for 23 on the Power Play in games 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7.  The 3 PP goals in game 6 worry me, but the fact they won 3 of 4 on the road, including game 7, makes me feel better about their ability to overcome a bad game on the PK.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter who the other team is if Detroit plays like they did last night.  When you have Datsyuk, Zetterburg, and Lidstrom contributing on offense, there’s not a lot the other team can do, because their 3 and 4 lines are good enough to be the 1 or 2 on other teams.

I don’t think Detroit can maintain the intensity they showed last night through a whole series.

I’ll take the Red Wings in 7.

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs #3 Vancouver Canucks

Sharkey Says:

Like the other Western Conference series, I had this matchup before the playoffs began.  And like that series, I’m sticking with my original thoughts.  I thought Vancouver would catch fire in these playoffs, and ride that momentum to a Conference Championship – their first since 1994.  Nothing about round 1 changed that for me.

Vancouver came out of the L.A. series playing better hockey than any team in the playoffs, and Luongo looks to be hitting his stride.  Meanwhile, Chicago had to fight to beat a Nashville team that was the least talented of all 16 playoff teams.  Antti Niemi is not playing like a goaltender who is going to win enough playoff games to hoist a cup.

I expect this to be a hardfought series, a very close series.  This is a budding NHL rivalry, and will likely produce one of the more exciting series of these entire playoffs.  I may well be wrong about Chicago, they may be the team to advance here.  Regardless of who does win, I see the winner of this series playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Canucks in 7

ManInBlack Says:

I agree with Sharkey.  Whoever wins this series may very well go to the Stanley Cup Final.  I’d love to pick Chicago here because I think they’re an exciting team to watch with a lot of offensive power.  Between Toews, Hossa, Kane, and Sharp, there’s a lot to like from a goal-scoring perspective. I’d also like to see a potential rematch of last year’s Western Conference Final/Original Six Matchup.

Again, goaltending is the big x-factor in this series.  Niemi had two shutouts in the first round, but his play was also wildly inconsistent at times.  Vancouver, meanwhile, has played physical hockey and Luongo can win games all by himself.  The more I see them play, the more impressed I am.

These two teams do not like each other.  Sharkey is right in saying that this is a great neo-rivalry with a lot of animosity on both sides.  Look for it to be a punishing, physical series.  I expect to see a lot of penalty minutes handed out in this one.  In the end, Vancouver will out-muscle the ‘Hawks and get better goalie play.  That will be the difference in the series.

Vancouver in 7

Doozer Says:

Honestly, any time I can get an Original Six matchup that’s what I want to see.  This series, though, is tough for me.  As a Detroit fan I can’t help but look at this series as a which team I would rather face.

On one hand, there’s last year’s rematch with Chicago with a series win over the Sharks.  The only difference is Chicago has added Marian Hossa and a year of experience.  I’m still not sold that Niemi can take this team to the finals, but I think they can score enough goals for it not to matter.

Unfortunately, depending on who you’re pulling for, Luongo is that guy capable of shutting down the other team, thereby putting the focus on the ability of the other netminder to keep the puck out of the net.  A trip to the Western Confernce Finals will be quite the exclamation point on a year of hockey in the Terminal City.

I like Luongo in 6.