8 reasons why the Eastern Conference won’t win the Stanley Cup

You read why the West won’t win the Stanley Cup, but we’re here to tell you they’ve got it all wrong.
We probably could just point out that the Metropolitian Division is in the Eastern Conference and that would be enough.

Here are our 8 reasons why the East won’t win the Stanley Cup this year.

 NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins at Winnipeg Jets

Pittsburgh Penguins
By: Derek Rocco

The Penguins aren’t as deep as they need to be and that will be their undoing. The top two lines are fine, but in the playoffs we all know the third and fourth lines pave the way to the finals. Tanner Glass is on the Penguins third line, so yeah. Let’s not forget, Marc-Andre Fleury’s playoff save percentage the last two years has been .834 and .883. What if he has a meltdown this year? Tomas Vokoun won’t be there to bail the Pens out.

NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals

Tampa Bay Lightning
By: Derek Rocco

Goaltending, goaltending, goaltending. Tampa doesn’t have it, at least with Bishop being hurt. They also don’t have their playoff hero Marty St. Louis, who they traded to New York.  The number one issue with Tampa though? Their penalty kill percentage is 80.7, which ranks them 23rd in the league during the regular season. That is awful and they won’t win in the playoffs because of it.

NHL: Detroit Red Wings at St. Louis Blues

Detriot Red Wings
By: Derek Rocco

The model NHL team on how to get to the playoffs won’t be around for too long.
1.) They have a bad shooting% at 8.7.
2.) They don’t have a healthy Henrik Zetterberg.
3.)  They drew Boston in the first round. Also, Jimmy Howard isn’t good enough to win a playoff series by himself, which he would have to do.

NHL: New York Rangers at Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadians
By: Derek Rocco

Montreal has had a very good finish to the regular season, but that won’t mean jack when they get to Game 1. Bottom line with Montreal is that they cannot seem to find ways to score. They rank 21st in the league with a goals-per-game average of 2.55. Their powerplay isn’t much better at 19th in the NHL at 17.3%.

NHL: Columbus Blue Jackets at Philadelphia Flyers

Columbus Blue Jackets
By: Jeff Kleiman

Not only will Columbus not win the Stanley Cup, they will be lucky to make it out of the first round. This is an organization with hardly any playoff experience. The Blue Jackets have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs only once in franchise history and they were swept in the first round at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. In this sport, experience matters a lot in the playoffs. While they have Stanley Cup-winner Nathan Horton on the roster, there just isn’t enough experience to go around.

NHL: Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers

Philadelphia Flyers
By: Jeff Kleiman

If there is one thing that will completely unhinge the Flyers in the playoffs, it’s going to be goaltending. The tandem of Sieve Steve Mason and Ray Emery shouldn’t scare anyone in the Eastern Conference. Mason and Emery have a career save percentage of .907 and .908 in the regular season, respectively. What is their career save percentage in the playoffs? Great question! Those numbers drop to .878 and .903, respectively. The Flyers will go as far as their goaltending allows them to and don’t be surprised if it’s not far.

NHL: Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers

New York Rangers
By: Jeff Kleiman

The Rangers will not win the Stanley Cup if Ryan McDonagh is not completely healthy and not on top of his game. McDonagh has not been in the Blueshirts lineup for the last two weeks due to a shoulder injury. The Flyers are well-aware of this, and while they are not going to intentionally injure McDonagh they will definitely test that shoulder of his and ensure they follow through with every check. If McDonagh’s shoulder can’t hold up, neither will the Rangers’ Stanley Cup aspirations.

NHL: Boston Bruins at New Jersey Devils

Boston Bruins
By: Jeffrey Kleiman

Winning the President’s Trophy does not equate to Stanley Cup Playoff success. In the last 10 years, only two teams who have won the Presidents’ Trophy have gone on to win the Stanley Cup — the 2007-2008 Detroit Red Wings and the 2012-2013 Chicago Blackhawks. The pressure of winning the President’s Trophy may be too much for the Bruins and they may end up tripping up along the way.

Quantcast