NHL Playoffs Preview
The 2006 NHL Playoffs will begin this Friday April 21st. Micah and I will predict the outcome for each NHL Playoff series. Let’s take a look at the Eastern Conference first.
1 Seed Ottawa Senators vs. 8 Seed Tampa Bay Lightning
Kyle’s View and Prediction: Ottawa is a very good team that will be tough to beat, even for the defending champs. Tampa has played well as of late and I think I would have picked them for a surprise series victory over Carolina, but I can’t here versus Ottawa. The Senators won the season series 4-0 and they might even get Hasek back for this series.Senators in 6 games
Micah’s View and Prediction: There’s not much to add to what Kyle said, although I could see Hasek’s return throwing a negative spin on things for Ottawa, if he’s rusty. There’s no time for gradual improvement in the playoffs. Senators in 5 games
2 Seed Carolina Hurricanes vs. 7 Seed Montreal Canadiens
Kyle’s View and Prediction: Carolina just missed out on the top seed and they might have lucked out by doing so. Not many teams would want to face the defending champions in the first round. I think Carolina got a favorable matchup here and they should be able to dominate Montreal in a 7 game series. Look for Carolina to cruise through this series.Hurricanes in 5 games
Micah’s View and Prediction: I just don’t see the Canadiens matching up with the Hurricanes over a 7 game series. Don’t rule out a sweep here.Hurricanes in 4 games
3 Seed New Jersey Devils vs. 6 Seed New York Rangers
Kyle’s View and Prediction: A week or two ago, this would have looked like a great Atlantic Division matchup for the playoffs. Now with the Devils on an 11 game winning streak and the Rangers losing their last 6 games of the season, this looks to be an easy series for Marty Brodeur and the Devils. Even with the return of Henrik Lundqvist from injury and Jagr’s great play, I don’t think the Rangers will be able to hold the Devils back.Devils in 6 games
Micah’s View and Prediction: I’m getting sick of the Devils. I hate their style of play and always have. But it works. Year after year after year. They’re one of those few teams of late that have really been dominating. In the playoffs, the ability to dominate game after game, is key. The Devils have. The Rangers don’t. Too bad the Flyguys don’t have it either.Devils in 5 games
4 Seed Buffalo Sabres vs. 5 Seed Philadelphia Flyers
Kyle’s View and Prediction: The Flyers were a preseason favorite to win the Stanley Cup, but they finished as the 5th seed thanks to tons of injuries and inconsistency. The Sabres on the other hand outdid their expectations and had a good season. This should be a great series that I think will go down to the wire. Both teams are very evenly matched and had 4 good games during the season with Buffalo winning 3 of the 4. But 1 was a shootout victory and another was a late regulation goal with less than 5 seconds for a 6-5 win. The Flyers handed Buffalo their last loss 5 games ago so hopefully Philly can continue that.Flyers in 7 games
Micah’s View and Prediction: I’m going out on a limb here. The pessimist in my gut rules when it comes to the Flyers. Sorry to pick against the home team, but there are just too many reasons to expect a Flyers breakdown. First of all, they still don’t have a well defined starting goalie. The absence of Johnsson, Primeau and Therien really hurt the Flyers defensively. Lack of consistency all year catches up with them and they go down early.Sabres in 6 games
Now onto the Western Conference.
1 Seed Detroit Red Wings vs. 8 Seed Edmonton Oilers
Kyle’s View and Prediction: Detroit seems like a team on a mission and they had an excellent season. I could easily say they will destroy Edmonton but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the Oilers will win 2-3 games. I think they will surprise everyone and could possibly pull a huge upset and beat Detroit but I doubt it.Red Wings in 6 games
Micah’s View and Prediction: Kyle’s in fantasy land here. Red Wings take this series in a sweep. This was the easiest pick of them all.Red Wings in 4 games
2 Seed Dallas Stars vs. 7 Seed Colorado Avalanche
Kyle’s View and Prediction: Dallas has a solid goalie in net with Marty Turco while Colorado has a little less certainty back in net. That could be the difference in this series. I think Colorado was hurt too much by the NHL Lockout losing players such as Forsberg. I believe Turco will carry the Stars in this series.Stars in 5 games
Micah’s View and Prediction: I see Colorado surprising Dallas with a real tough series. Dallas pulls through in the end.Stars in 7 games
3 Seed Calgary Flames vs. 6 Seed Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Kyle’s View and Prediction: Calgary had a good season and I think this matchup with Anaheim will make for a very good series. I believe that Calgary has the better team with Kiprusoff as their netminder but I don’t think Anaheim will back down. I think this series will go the whole way with Anaheim shocking Calgary by winning the final game on the road up in Calgary.Anaheim in 7 games
Micah’s View and Prediction: Again, Kyle’s gone off his rocker. Calgary is clearly the better team here. This should be an easy pick, not an upset pick. If Kyle had given us a reason to think Anaheim would shock Calgary, then maybe, just maybe we could let him off the hook. But no reason is given except maybe fate or luck on the road. As Kyle said, Calgary is clearly the better team hereCalgary in 6 games
4 Seed Nashville Predators vs. 5 Seed San Jose Sharks
Kyle’s View and Prediction: This series has my darkhorse prediction for the best playoff series of the first round. The Sharks have played extremely well as of late with Thornton and Cheechoo becoming a great pair while the Predators lost their best player for the season to injury in G Tomas Vokoun. One would think it’s an easy pick for San Jose then, but I think Nashville will overcome their adversity and will make this a great series. I believe that Nashville will rally up as a team and put backup goalie Chris Mason on their backs. Unfortunately I think San Jose will win this series at the end after a great effort by the Predators.San Jose in 7 games
Micah’s View and Prediction: I’m willing to give Nashville the benefit of the doubt in this series, because admittedly, I haven’t followed either of these teams at all. Goalies don’t score goals, and backup goalies aren’t swiss cheese. And, if Kyle is right, Nashville has that “kick in the ass” they need to make it through this series.Nashville in 7 games
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Posted on April 19, 2006 by Kyle Garis | Filed Under Flyers, Philadelphia
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To justify my fantasy land pick of Edmonton winning some games against Detroit, Darren Daulton gave me some advice on that series haha.
As for the Anaheim pick, I really liked what I saw from Teemu Selanne during the Winter Olympics. He was quite the leader on and off the ice for Team Finland and they came away with the Silver medal. I also think J.S. Giguere could return back to his stellar form in net, which he had during the 2003 playoffs.
Here’s a interesting note about Nashville’s backup goalie Chris Mason: In the last 5 games of the season, he was 5-0 with a .967 save percentage and .79 GAA. Not too shabby. I really hope he does well even though I picked San Jose.
Micah,
While I agree with a lot of what you have to say, I find it hard to believe that you think that the absence of Therien will actually HURT the Flyboys. I don’t want to sound insensitive here, but Therien’s injury came as a blessing to the guys in orange & black. He is a blemish on the ice and a crutch to the team.
P.S This was not an attack on either yours or Chris Therien’s character. I know neither of them, thus I can not judge.
Ok, ok. You’re right. But there’s no doubting that Johnsson and Primeau are major blows to the gut.
Wings-6, Canes-5, Stars-5, Flyers-4, Preds-6 will lose. Sens and Flames could very likely lose, better go back to the drawing board there boys.
Maybe I should have gone with the Sabres in a sweep.
Uh, so… You were both stupid on Edmonton, Stupid on Dallas, Stupid on Nashville, underrated the Devils, overrated the Canes… so you picked Ottawa successfully, are split on Calgary (though Anaheim was a lot stronger team than many thought, without Teemu scoring) and are split on the Flyers. the only pick I agree with that you have outstanding is the Flyers. I think they might pull it out, Forsberg uber alles. You guys should quit with the projecting.
I suppose you would have picked Dallas over Colorado, and I’m sure everyone saw that all of the 4 top seeds in the West would be out in round one, while all the 4 top seeds in the Eastern Conference advanced.
And as for “being stupid on Edmonton,” I said they would win a few games which is more than most would say. Let me know when you find the guy that picked Edmonton over Detroit in 6 cause I’d like to meet that person.
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