Post by League Commish (Hurricanes GM) on May 8, 2013 12:57:11 GMT -5
(1) Vancouver Canucks versus (7) Los Angeles Kings
VAN 4-1-0 - RECORD - 4-3-0 LAK
VAN (4.20 GFPG) 21 - GF - 26 (3.71 GFPG) LAK
VAN (2.60 GAPG) 13 - GA - 22 (3.14 GAPG) LAK
VAN (3G, 5A, 9P) Ryan Kesler - Leading Scorer - Christian Ehrhoff (1G, 6A, 7P) LAK
VAN (0.886 SV%, 2.56 GAA, 0 SO) Roberto Luongo - Goaltending - Jonathan Quick (0.892 SV%, 3.14 GAA, 1 SO) LAK
Season Meetings
VAN 2- 1 LAK
VAN 1 - 4 LAK
VAN 4 - 1 LAK
VAN 3 - 1 LAK
VAN 4-1-0 - RECORD - 4-3-0 LAK
VAN (4.20 GFPG) 21 - GF - 26 (3.71 GFPG) LAK
VAN (2.60 GAPG) 13 - GA - 22 (3.14 GAPG) LAK
VAN (3G, 5A, 9P) Ryan Kesler - Leading Scorer - Christian Ehrhoff (1G, 6A, 7P) LAK
VAN (0.886 SV%, 2.56 GAA, 0 SO) Roberto Luongo - Goaltending - Jonathan Quick (0.892 SV%, 3.14 GAA, 1 SO) LAK
Season Meetings
VAN 2- 1 LAK
VAN 1 - 4 LAK
VAN 4 - 1 LAK
VAN 3 - 1 LAK
The Canucks had a fairly easy road to the second round, finishing off their opponent in just five games. The Kings, however, blew a 3-1 lead only to win their series in a dominant game seven victory over the Blues. The Canucks are well rested, but the Kings may be more prepared to compete right off the bat. The Canucks won three of the four season meetings, but this series should be tight despite that. The Kings have experience with knocking off high seeds going straight to the cup finals as an 8th seed and knocking out the Blues in round one. The Canucks cannot take them lightly.
Key Players for Vancouver
Roberto Luongo - Despite winning four of the five games he played, Luongo's stats, at least his save percentage for sure, could be much better.
Henrik Sedin - After being injured for a month and missing the entire first round, the Canucks number one center should return this series, giving them another weapon to put to use against the Kings.
David Booth - Relied upon for secondary offense, Booth has struggled so far. Luckily for him, the big guns have been getting the job done but as the playoffs continue on, they'll need their depth players to get going again.
Key Players for Los Angeles
Jonathan Quick - Quick played well despite a couple of blow out games. With the Sedins being reunited and some other major offensive threats, look for the Kings to rely heavily upon their former MVP winner again in round two.
Christian Ehrhoff - Ehrhoff led the team wiht 7 points as a defenseman. He's dangerous, especially on the powerplay, and will be a constant threat on both ends of the ice when he's out there.
Dustin Brown - Brown had 6 points in 7 games, leading the team well through some adversity. He'll need to continue to lead by example against the number one seed in the West.
Prediction
4-3 Vancouver. I'm on the fence here. Both teams are very good and this could go either way so I took the generic route out, saying it'll go 7 and the higher seed will win. This was probably the hardest series for me to make a prediction in out of the four.
(3) San Jose Sharks versus (5) Chicago Blackhawks
SJS 4-0-0 - RECORD - 4-1-0 CHI
SJS (4.50 GFPG) 18 - GF - 19 (3.80 GFPG) CHI
SJS (2.00 GAPG) 8 - GA - 13 (2.57 GAPG) CHI
SJS (2G, 5A, 7P) Brad Stuart - Leading Scorer - Taylor Hall (2G, 5A, 7P) CHI
SJS (0.909 SV%, 2.00 GAA, 0 SO) Ryan Miller - Goaltending - Corey Crawford (0.888 SV%, 2.57 GAA, 0 SO) CHI
Season Meetings
SJS 1 - 3 CHI
SJS 3 - 1 CHI
SJS 3 - 0 CHI
SJS 2 - 4 CHI
SJS 4-0-0 - RECORD - 4-1-0 CHI
SJS (4.50 GFPG) 18 - GF - 19 (3.80 GFPG) CHI
SJS (2.00 GAPG) 8 - GA - 13 (2.57 GAPG) CHI
SJS (2G, 5A, 7P) Brad Stuart - Leading Scorer - Taylor Hall (2G, 5A, 7P) CHI
SJS (0.909 SV%, 2.00 GAA, 0 SO) Ryan Miller - Goaltending - Corey Crawford (0.888 SV%, 2.57 GAA, 0 SO) CHI
Season Meetings
SJS 1 - 3 CHI
SJS 3 - 1 CHI
SJS 3 - 0 CHI
SJS 2 - 4 CHI
The San Jose Sharks had the easiest road to the second round by routing the Minnesota Wild in a dominating four game performance. The defending champion Blackhawks knocked out another Western powerhouse in Edmonton in a tidy five game victory. These two teams are two of the top dogs in the West and this should be a very competitive series from both sides.
Key Players for San Jose
Ryan Miller - Miller posted the best stats out of all goaltenders in the first round. Against a powerful Chicago offense, the Sharks will need him to continue to be solid between the pipes to give their own offense a chance to strike back.
Brad Stuart - Stuart has been a rock on defense all year for the Sharks and has found his offensive game in the post season with a team leading 7 points.
Cody Hodgson - 3 points in 4 games, with 3 goals makes Hodgson a constant threat when on the ice. Mostly known for his playmaking, it's been his goalscoring touch that has had the most impact so far.
Key Players for Chicago
Corey Crawford - Despite only losing one game, Crawford hasn't been amazing. He'll need to step it up in round two.
Paul Stastny - With just 2 points in 5 games, Stastny needs to be better, especially with the injuries that the Blackhawks already have.
Mark McNeill - The young rookie chipped in 6 points in 5 games in the absense of big name stars like Eberle and Strome. He'll be relied upon for even more offense against the Sharks.
Prediction
4-2 Chicago. This is another one of those series that could go either way. If Miller stays hot, the Sharks have a real shot at pushing past the Blackhawks.
(2) Carolina Hurricanes versus (8) New York Islanders
CAR 4-2-0 - RECORD - 4-1-1 NYI
CAR (4.00 GFPG) 24 - GF - 28 (4.67 GFPG) NYI
CAR (2.68 GAPG) 16 - GA - 21 (3.50 GAPG) NYI
CAR (1G, 1A, 6P) Kris Versteeg - Leading Scorer - Tim Connolly (3G, 7A, 10P) NYI
CAR (0.895 SV%, 2.68 GAA, 1 SO) Cam Ward - Goaltending - Rick DiPietro (0.885 SV%, 3.48 GAA, 0 SO) NYI
Season Meetings
CAR 6 - 1 NYI
CAR 4 - 2 NYI
CAR 3- 5 NYI
CAR 3 - 4 NYI
CAR 4-2-0 - RECORD - 4-1-1 NYI
CAR (4.00 GFPG) 24 - GF - 28 (4.67 GFPG) NYI
CAR (2.68 GAPG) 16 - GA - 21 (3.50 GAPG) NYI
CAR (1G, 1A, 6P) Kris Versteeg - Leading Scorer - Tim Connolly (3G, 7A, 10P) NYI
CAR (0.895 SV%, 2.68 GAA, 1 SO) Cam Ward - Goaltending - Rick DiPietro (0.885 SV%, 3.48 GAA, 0 SO) NYI
Season Meetings
CAR 6 - 1 NYI
CAR 4 - 2 NYI
CAR 3- 5 NYI
CAR 3 - 4 NYI
After the first round, the New York Islanders stand tall over the heavily favored Pittsburgh Penguins in dominating fashion, with a goals for of over 4.50. The Hurricanes had some struggles with the Canadiens but managed to come away with the victory in six games. Poised to make another run at the Stanley Cup, Carolina will need to go through the Isles, who have already slayed one giant in the east, can they slay another? These two teams split the season series and are both coming off of wins, so this could go either way.
Key Players for Carolina
Cam Ward - Ward wasn't terrible in the first round, but he definitely had some room for improvement. Against an Isles offense averaging almost 5 goals per game through one round of competition, he'll need to be better if the Canes want to advance to the third round.
Jake Gardiner - Gardiner has led the way on the blue line, playing the most minutes on the team, tying for the team lead in goals and sporting a respectable +3. He'll be relied upon even more to shutdown the Isles.
Eric Staal - The captain played well in six games, putting up five points but just one goal. He's the catalyst, and he'll need to match the pace put up by players like Connolly and Tavares.
Key Players for New York
Rick DiPietro - DiPietro struggled against the Penguins, but his offense bailed him out. After a solid season, he'll need to get over his early struggles and batten down the hatches just in case the Isle's offensive attack slows down.
Tim Connolly - Perhaps a surprise, Connolly has 10 points in 6 games, leading the way for the Islanders.
John Tavares - He's the leader on Long Island for a reason, and with 9 points in 6 games, he's a bonafide offense threat that the Hurricanes will need to pay alot of attention to.
Prediction
4-3 New York. I'm not confident in this series at all. They outscored and defeated the best team in the east, and I'm not sure I can slow down their offense enough to come away with the win.
(3) Boston Bruins versus (4) New York Rangers
BOS 4-2-0 - RECORD - 4-1-1 NYR
BOS (4.50 GFPG) 27 - GF - 29 (4.83 GFPG) NYR
BOS (3.67 GAPG) 22 - GA - 21 (3.50 GAPG) NYR
BOS (6G, 5A, 11P) Joe Thornton - Leading Scorer - Curtiz Lazar (4G, 7A, 11P) NYR
BOS (0.845 SV%, 3.63 GAA, 0 SO) Tuukka Rask - Goaltending - Kari Lehtonen (0.862 SV%, 3.40 GAA, 0 SO) NYR
Season Meetings
BOS 4 - 2 NYR
BOS 4 - 0 NYR
BOS 4 - 1 NYR
BOS 1 - 5 NYR
BOS 4-2-0 - RECORD - 4-1-1 NYR
BOS (4.50 GFPG) 27 - GF - 29 (4.83 GFPG) NYR
BOS (3.67 GAPG) 22 - GA - 21 (3.50 GAPG) NYR
BOS (6G, 5A, 11P) Joe Thornton - Leading Scorer - Curtiz Lazar (4G, 7A, 11P) NYR
BOS (0.845 SV%, 3.63 GAA, 0 SO) Tuukka Rask - Goaltending - Kari Lehtonen (0.862 SV%, 3.40 GAA, 0 SO) NYR
Season Meetings
BOS 4 - 2 NYR
BOS 4 - 0 NYR
BOS 4 - 1 NYR
BOS 1 - 5 NYR
The Bruins and the Rangers both closed out their series in six games against competitive opponents. Both teams have comparable stats in GF and GA, a leading scorer with the same amount of points and two goaltenders who struggled to play to their abilities. Something has to give in this match and it might boil down to whether upstart rookie sensation Curtis Lazar can continue his torrid pace against a big vet like Thornton or if he'll slow down in round two.
Key Players for Boston
Joe Thornton - Thornton has led the way offensivley for the Bruins, and he'll need to continue to do that in this game.
Brooks Laich - After a stellar regular season campaign, Laich cooled off in the playoffs. They'll need some more offense from him to help power them by the high scoring Rangers.
Kyle Quincey/Eric Moe - These two combined for 17 points in 6 games from the blueline. Alot of Boston's offense has been coming from the back end and the Rangers will definitely need to watch the points.
Key Players for New York
Curtis Lazar - The young rookie Lazar leads all forwards in points in just his first six playoff games, helping power his Rangers past the Jets. Time will tell if he can continue to score at the pace that he has but if he can, it would definitely take some of the responsibility off of the shoulders of Getzlaf.
Vladislav Namestnikov - Another rookie who's been making an impact in his first taste of palyoff action, Vladislav has 8 points in 6 games, adding some very valuable secondary scoring.
Ryan Getzlaf - 3 points in 6 games isn't terrible, but they expect more out of their big trade deadline acquisition. He's a proved big game player, he just needs to find that next gear.
Prediction
4-2 New York. Rask has been terrible and so has Lehtonen, so this could really come down to which goalie decides to show up more than the other. The Bruins won 3 of their 4 regular season meetings, so expect this to be a competitive series regardless of who comes out with the win.