Puck Drunk Love's Playoff Predictions - 1st Round
Today marks the first day of each team's journey to win 16 games. The 2012 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs will be a roller coaster ride of excitement, despair, and surprise. Who will break out as an MVP candidate? Which goaltender will steal a series for their team? How dirty will some of these rivalries get?
While we may not be able to answer all these questions at once, some of the staff at Puck Drunk Love has decided to chip in with their predictions for the first round of the playoffs. Find your favorite staff writer and see if you're on board with their picks or laugh as you disagree with them. We'll be following up our first round picks with another round of predictions before the second round starts.
Let the NHL Playoffs begin!
David Rogers:
The battle of the 4th and 5th seeds in both Conferences are pure gold. It's hard to pick which series between Philadelphia/Pittsburgh and Nashville/Detroit will deliver more entertainment (though we know which will be covered more), but both on paper indicate they should be absolute joys to watch. If you're a casual fan just checking out some predictions, try your best to tune in to one of these two series. They are going to be physical, heated contests between teams that simply don't like each other. I can't wait.
NYR vs. OTT
Rangers in 6
BOS vs. WAS
Boston in 6
FLA vs. NJ
NJ in 5
PIT vs. PHI
PIT in 7
VAN vs. LA
VAN in 6
STL vs. SJ
STL in 6
PHO vs. CHI
CHI in 7
NSH vs. DET
DET in 7
Laura Astorian:
I'm assuming regular season series don't mean diddly or squat here, which is why I have the Rangers over the Sens in six. I think Lundqvist is a little more tested in the playoffs than Craig Anderson, and as good as the Sens've been I don't know if they have the extra oomph needed. I'd like to say FL wins their series, but again it boils down to experience. As meh as the Caps've been, the Bruins should make them the first team to go, and the Pens/Flyers series, while fueled by hatred, tends to be a whole different beast in the playoffs that should make it a bit easier for the Pens to break through.
Vancouver rests on their goaltending, as does LA, but at least Vancouver can score. The Blues're going to have to fight the Sharks tooth and nail but will probably out-grit them, while the Coyotes will have to fight Chicago every step of the way as well. Mike Smith is a far more reliable goalie than either of the 'Hawks'. As far as the last matchup goes, I'm guessing home ice finally gives the Preds that extra push that they need to dump Detroit in the first round.
NYR vs. OTT
Rangers in 6
BOS vs. WAS
Boston in 5
FLA vs. NJ
NJ in 6
PIT vs. PHI
PIT in 6
VAN vs. LA
VAN in 6
STL vs. SJ
STL in 6
PHO vs. CHI
PHO in 7
NSH vs. DET
NSH in 7
Joe Tetreault:
Series A - Rangers def Senators 4 games to 1
The Rangers defense first style should smother the Senators attack and advance the Broadway Blueshirts to Round two with relative ease.
Series B - Bruins def Caps 4 games to 0
After a late winter of discontent, the Bruins started clicking in late March and early April. Washington's injuries in net does not bode well entering the playoffs.
Series C - Devils def Panthers 4 games to 3
Two evenly matched teams whose coaches have history with the opposing franchise. In the end it's still Marty Brodeur in the Cup Playoffs and that's the difference maker.
Series D - Penguins def Flyers 4 games to 2
It's all about hate. These two teams have that single emotion for each other. With a healthy Crosby, the Pens just have too many weapons.
Series E - Kings def Canucks 4 games to 3
This series turns on Kings mid-season acquisition Jeff Carter. Since he came over, the Kings have scored an extra goal a game, which might be just enough to squeak by the Canucks without Daniel Sedin.
Series F - Blues def Sharks 4 games to 1
San Jose's stumbles down the stretch exposed many weaknesses that leave the club in the unfamiliar position of opening a first round series on the road, against an opponent who dominated them in the regular season. Check please.
Series G - Blackhawks def Coyotes 4 games to 2
The swoon set the Blackhawks on a collision course with the golf course, but Chicago righted their ship and finished with more than 100 points for the third time in four seasons. Phoenix has never escaped the Conference Quarters since departing Winnipeg.
Series H - Predators def Red Wings 4 games to 3
Two bruising heavyweaights in what should be the marquee matchup of the Conference Quarters. These two are as evenly matched as they come. Home ice favors the Preds, but experience points to the Red Wings. This one could easily go to overtime in game seven. And we'd all be the better if it did.
J.P. Quayle
The playoffs can have interesting effects on teams. As we've seen in the past, it can make the strong weak and make the underdog suffocate their opponent. If magic is going to happen this postseason, the Sharks are the team that will outlast the heavily favored Blues. The Canucks will have their hands full as well, but will continue on if Roberto Luongo's mental state doesn't collapse. Without Toews, Chicago won't see the light of day past Mike Smith and the Preds deadline deals (+ Radulov) will finally help them defeat the Red Wings.
If the Rangers stay focused, they shouldn't have any problems with the Senators. Alex Ovechkin might be able to sucker punch the Bruins out of the gate, but the Caps goaltending situation will be their downfall. The Tallon Experiment got the Panthers over the playoff hump but it won't get them past Brodeur and the improved Kovalchuk. Finally, the Pens win the battle of Pennsylvania with a significant contribution from Arron Asham (in addition to Crosby, Malkin, and Neal).
NYR vs. OTT
Rangers in 5
BOS vs. WAS
Boston in 5
FLA vs. NJ
NJ in 5
PIT vs. PHI
PIT in 6
VAN vs. LA
VAN in 7
STL vs. SJ
SJ in 7
PHO vs. CHI
PHO in 6
NSH vs. DET
NSH in 6
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So many good matchups, as one would expect of the playoffs. 4-5 in both leagues is going to be a blast, particularly. I'll go ahead and chip in my predictions, too. Naturally, there is the usual caveat that a hot goalie can make me look like an idiot.
East:
Rangers over Senators in six. Much as I'd like to call this one for the Sens, their defense is just too porous to stand up here. Still, they have enough firepower to make this more of a series than one might thing of a usual 1-8 matchup, and at least it's not the Bruins, who Ottawa have a serious run of futility against. New York has plenty left to prove, after Pittsburgh almost caught them for the division lead as the season wound down.
Bruins over Capitals in seven. I'd like to say that Boston would just win this outright, but both of these teams have had serious Jekyll and Hyde issues all year. Do we get the Bruins team that was hanging 8+ goals on teams for a week from the middle of the year? Or the one that faltered and had to stave off the Senators late for the division? Similar questions for the Caps, except they failed to hold off Florida.
Devils over Panthers in five. Not a whole lot I can say about this one. It feels like Brodeur has been the Devils netminder since I started watching hockey (that's not wholly true, but it sure seems that way), and as Brodeur goes, so go the Devils. The Cats might eke out one game here, but I'm expecting this to be the least intriguing opening round matchup in the East.
Philadelphia over Pittsburgh in seven. Is Fleury the bigger thief, or is Bryzgalov? Should be one of those metaphorically-bloody intra-division rivalry series. Much like 4-5 in the West, I expect that everyone who isn't a fan of the 4 seed is hoping that the 5's will at least punish Pittsburgh physically, all series long... and if any team is set up to do that in the East, it's Philly.
West:
Canucks over Kings in seven. Until Luongo proves otherwise, I'm not convinced he's really ready for prime time in the playoffs. Boston made him look awful in three of the seven games of the Cup Finals last year. Comparatively, Quick has been a brick wall, especially this year. Sure, he has to prove it, but he definitely has the potential to steal this series for his team. The fact that the Kings are up a goal per game for on average since the trade deadline doesn't hurt their chances, either. Still, Vancouver won the Presidents' Trophy for a reason, and should have all the motivation in the world to make another deep run after falling just short last year.
Sharks over Blues in six. Yes, I know, the Blues won all four games against the Sharks in the regular season this year. Yes, I know, they were the second most dominant team on home ice this year. I also went to the last regular season home game and watched them lay a complete egg against Phoenix, as part of going 4-3-3 in their last ten. San Jose has the momentum, and the motivation after getting clobbered in the regular season. Plus, they have a history of putting Blues teams (even really good, Presidents' Trophy-winning ones) out of the playoffs.
Chicago over Phoenix in five. Chicago with the speed and offensive output shouldn't have a serious issue putting the Coyotes away. Of course, not unlike the Boston/Washington matchup, we've seen the Blackhawks be incredibly awful for a stretch this year, and the Coyotes be absolutely lights out for a month. The truth of this series probably doesn't lay with either of those two stretches of play, though.
Detroit over Nashville in seven. What's better than splitting a season series with a division rival 3-3? Getting to play them in the first round of the playoffs. This series may not see quite the level of physical play I'm expecting out of Pitt/Philly, but that certainly won't be Nashville's fault. Regardless of Detroit's great skill, Rinne's glove ought to keep this series tight, all the way down to the wire. If it's really a 3-2 league, I'm expecting a lot of 3-2 games out of this series. Either this series or Blues/Sharks is my pick for most OT games in the first round.
@miendiem Ouch. The Blues prediction stings. Really hope you're wrong on that one.
Latest blog post: Watch Blues Playoff Games at Select Wehrenberg Theaters
@David Rogers I hope I am, too. Maybe I'll be more positive after tomorrow night. Seriously, I feel like I've been saying this a lot lately, but being a Blues fan since the start of the 90s, I've seen this team fail in the playoffs in all sorts of ways. I wonder: Is this how a Cubs fan feels?
@David Rogers Okay, now that round one is over, I'm here to take my lumps as a hockey prognosticator.
For the East:
I had the Rangers in six, but they took seven.
I had the Bruins in seven, but the Capitals won that game seven.
I had the Devils in five, but it took them seven.
I had the Flyers in seven, but they actually got it done in six. And what in the world happened to the thing called "defense" in this series?
For the West:
I had the Canucks in seven, but Quick and the Kings did it in five to make me look ridiculous.
I had the Sharks over the Blues in six, but the Blues ran off four wins in a row after opening with a double-OT loss to clean it up in five.
I had the Blackhawks going by Phoenix in five, but the 'yotes did it in six.
I had the Red Wings over the Predators in seven, but it only took the Predators five to knock off the evil empire.
@David Rogers Crow, I will happily start eating it now. Half of my predicted winners in the West are already wrong. Only three of my eight proposed series lengths can still be right. I will claim credit for the prediction of 3-2 Detroit/Nashville games, capped off with the 3-1, though. heh
As a Blues fan, it's nice to now have a few days of being able to just watch and enjoy hockey. Plenty of good series not done yet, starting tomorrow with three potential series enders, or two potential game sevens and a game six once the contests are decided.
@David Rogers And another 3-2 final in the NSH/DET series, but with the opposite result. Not very far in, but so far Quick and the Kings are trying to make my VAN/LA prediction look the most ridiculous of the lot.
@David Rogers Also, Rinne's glove keeping Nashville in game one? Check. 3-2 final score? Check. Early lead on the OT games count? No check. Two out of three ain't bad, right?
