Chicago
Blackhawks v. Anaheim Ducks
I had the Blackhawks losing last round, but they
made me look totally foolish by sweeping the Wild. The Ducks, meanwhile, might be the best team
thus far in the playoffs, having lost only one game. That said, they’ve had by far the easiest
road to this point.
At this stage, series inevitably revolve around
goaltending. For the Hawks and Ducks,
there are some wrinkles. First, for
Chicago, Corey Crawford had a rough first round but started all four games of
the Wild series. He’s also a Cup winner,
but he needs to not revert to first-round form against the talented Ducks
roster. For Anaheim, Fredrik Andersen
has been good enough, which is to say he has let his team flash its offensive
prowess in front of him without being a sieve.
His stats look good, no doubt, but I remain a bit skeptical given his
competition thus far and the gaudy 3.9 goals averaged by the Ducks this
postseason.
Offense remains key for Anaheim. Corey Perry has posted 15 points in the
playoffs, along with goals at some very key moments. For the Blackhawks, their superstar Patrick
Kane has defied expectations in not only returning early from an injury but
also producing at a high level. Chicago
has another worry on the back end, however, after Michal Roszival broke his ankle
in the second round and is out. They
will now look to Kimmo Timonen and Davind Rundblad, both of whom played in Game
1 on Sunday. I remain deeply skeptical
Timonen has much left in the tank, so it will be interesting if coach Joel
Quenneville breaks up the awesome Oduya-Hjalmarsson pairing to bring more
balance across all three lines.
As a final note, two of the best two-way centers are
playing in this series. Jonathan Toews
for Chicago, and Ryan Kesler from Anaheim.
Kesler will likely slot against the Kane line, which should be a fun
matchup and will lead to plenty of shoving matches. Toews is expected to match up with the
Getzlaf-Perry line, which is bound to be entertaining.
Prediction:
Ducks in seven. They are better rested
and bring more goal scoring depth to the picture. Matt Belesky, Jacob Silfverberg, and Kyle
Palmieri all can score goals, which in the end will overwhelm the Hawks. But it will be tough, and I expect this
series to go the distance.
Tampa
Bay Lightning v. New York Rangers
In a matchup between one team no one cares about and
one that everyone is tired of, this series hopefully will be more exciting than
either of the second round tilts in the East.
One guy will determine this series: Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers goalie was nothing short of
sensational last series, and his ability to nurse a one goal lead is, by now,
well-known (feels like the Rangers haven’t had a two goal game since the
Messier days). This is particularly
noteworthy when you consider how well Tampa has been this playoffs when scoring
first (they’re undefeated).
For the Lightning, Steven Stamkos will continue to
be the storyline. He had three goals
last round, but the sniper who decimated opponents the past few seasons just
doesn’t seem to be there right now.
Tampa has relied on its famed Triplets line for top-end scoring thus
far.
This series will hopefully be characterized by
speed. Both teams bring very quick
players, especially on their lower lines, that can change the course of a game
just by a hard move into the offensive zone (kinda like Chris Kreider did against
the Caps). The last round didn’t feature
much of this, but when it did both the Rangers and the Lightning cashed
in.
As was the case against Montreal, real emphasis will
be placed on whether Ben Bishop can match Henrik Lundqvist. Bishop has had a great postseason, but with
some blemishes. His glove hand in
particular has failed him at some points, but through Game 1 he looks to have
done a decent job. It seems, however,
that Lundqvist gets better and better as a series progresses, so the question
remains whether it can all be sustained.
Prediction:
Rangers in six. I can see Tampa winning
two here, but after their close calls in the first and second round (without a
Tyler Johnson goal with under a second left they might not even be here) it’s
tough to trust them at this point. New
York has, for lack of a better term, proven themselves qualified winners. Their talent from top to bottom might not be
as prolific, but with the Swede at their back I don’t see them losing to Tampa.
The
Caps Offseason
Coming into the offseason, the Caps have some
serious decisions to make.
First are the restricted free agents: Marcus
Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Braden Holtby.
It’s obvious they should do whatever they can to make Holtby happy, as
he is the franchise goalie officially.
Kuznetsov, despite his disappointing season, looks to be the second line
center for the Caps going forward. I say sign him too.
The unrestricted free agents are a different batch:
Mike Green, Joel Ward, Eric Fehr, Jay Beagle, Curtis Glencross, and Tim
Gleason. To dispense with the
low-hanging fruit, Gleason and Glencross should not return. Glencross started hot, but faded, and Gleason
for all his physicality is keeping the spot warm for a youngster like Dimitry
Orlov or maybe Nate Schmidt.
The key decision will be Mike Green. In a more limited role this year, Green
responded with 45 points, his most since the barnburning ’09-’10 season. That’s great production, regardless, but it
also means Green will be due a big pay day, especially at age 29. I am in favor of letting Green go, mainly
because he would demand a lot of money for a guy playing less than 20 minutes a
game. I also believe the younger guys
can replicate his production in 5-on-5 when they come up (Orlov in particular),
though it will be difficult to find his replacement for the power play unit.
Once those options are taken care of, we’re left
with Ward, Fehr, Beagle, and Johansson.
Ward made $3 million last year, and might be looking for a raise after
proving his worth in the postseason.
Eric Fehr had 33 points this year, and seems comfy in DC after his brief
stint with Winnipeg a few seasons ago.
Jay Beagle, despite only 20 points, is a wonderful face-off man and a
great penalty killer. Marcus Johansson
can play on the top line and, amazingly, is the 5th most prolific
scorer from his draft class, despite being picked at the bottom of the order.
If possible, you sign all four, but I don’t think
that will happen. The Caps have carved
out a great use for Beagle, who I think deserves more than the 900K he made
last season, and should stay. The others
are question marks. Ward also has his
specific role, and it seems he is a great presence in the locker room based on
how he handles the media. In the end,
both he and Johansson have the ability to play on the top line, so if you can
keep one, the other may have to go. Fehr
was a sparkplug this season, scoring big goals and plenty of them, and I liked
his play before going down in the playoffs.
He provides true depth scoring and also is a decent two-way player that
can contribute on the penalty kill, something Johansson does not do.
In the end, I’d let Johansson walk if I had to. Regardless, it was a good season, though they
choked at the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment