Previewing the NHL Conference Finals
We’re down to the final four in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs and they just happen to be the last four champions. I’m not sure how much to read into that just yet but it’s true that all four clubs have retained the coaches and player cores from those successful teams. For sure they are all more than capable of being the last left standing. Both Conference Final matchups will get underway tonight, so here’s a quick preview:
Eastern Conference – Pittsburgh Penguins (1) versus Boston Bruins (4)
After taking only five games to dispatch their respective opponents in the last round Boston and Pittsburgh have each had about a week to prepare. Dan Byslma and Claude Julien will have been working hard their lineups hard in practice then in preparation, the latter must have been racking his brain over how to stop Crosby, Malkin and co. particularly after the way their offence took over the latter stages of the series with Ottawa. Key to that will be the shutting down clinical powerplay work the Penguins have been doing, I think getting some pressure on Kris Letang moving the puck at the point would make a big difference.
Despite all of the attention being on Pittsburgh’s scoring it’s David Krejci who leads the points tables. Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic are going to relish getting physical, especially in front of the net against some of the smaller members of the Pens’ defence core. I can’t wait to see Crosby go up against the best defensive forward in the business Patrice Bergeron, and they won’t be much looking forward to staring down Zdeno Chara either.
Tomas Vokoun shows no signs of relinquishing his starting berth back to Marc-Andre Fleury, the Czech’s record as a starter in 2013 is 19-5-3. The Bruins will be throwing a lot of shots and bodies his way but he’s experienced enough to handle it. Tuukka Rask was much improved against New York in round two after cutting a frustrated figure at times when the Maple Leafs got on top of him. I think Rask may find this series tough, he’s been consistent enough but is yet to put in a real standout performance.
A side plot will be the veterans, Jarome Iginla chose the Penguins when faced with a decision between the two at the trade deadline. After missing out the Bruins turned to Jaromir Jagr, a man even higher up the all time points table and a two time Stanley Cup winner with Pittsburgh at the beginning of his career in the 90s.
Personally I think it’ll be the Penguins that progress, they have so much depth it’s frightening. Toronto showed in the first round that speed is the key to unlocking their defence and even Pittsburgh’s fourth line is capable of causing problems.
Prediction: Pittsburgh win in 6.
Western Conference – Chicago Blackhawks (1) versus Los Angeles Kings (5)
Already a commendable defence of their title by LA, who become the first reigning Champs to make it this far since the Red Wings in ’09. In contrast to the East both clubs won their respective Game 7s only a matter of days ago, meaning they’ve had very little time to rest and recuperate.
These have been the two strictest defences in the postseason, averaging under two goals against per game. There’s a huge disparity in the hit totals of the two during these playoffs and that’s just one of the things that separates their styles from simply just being defensively strong. The Kings possess more skill than they are often given credit for but the likes of Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown have hardly been tearing it up. For the most part it’s been the combo of good buddies Mike Richards and Jeff Carter doing damage and they need a little more support like they got in Game 7 on Tuesday.
When you talk about LA though it’s impossible to ignore the contributions of a certain Jonathan Quick. He’s leading every goalie stat category and his .948 save percentage is just ridiculous, I think he could well be on his way to consecutive Conn Smythe trophies. Corey Crawford down the other end has had a few wobbles however to view him as a weakness after such a stellar season would be extremely harsh.
The Blackhawks are led in the points by Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa, two of the more experienced players on their roster. As a whole they are down on goals noticeably from the regular season, the expectations placed on the President’s Trophy winning team always makes it tough to carry it through. Captain Jonathan Toews is the most prominent guy has to pick it up, Joel Quenneville has put him on the same line as Sharp and Patrick Kane for the last three games and it had a positive effect.
Chicago’s defence was exposed a couple of times by Detroit in the semis and I think LA will eventually manage to grind them down. I’ve got the Kings to win this series just, and as I always tend to side with the team from the West in the Finals whoever takes this one will go on to win it all.
Prediction: LA win in 7.
