At the outset this series looks pretty one-sided...but that is only the case if we continue to look past the Senators as many have this season. I have been on this bandwagon for some time however. I picked the Sens to make the playoffs and I picked them to win in the first round...
But this series may be a different story...because I really like Lundqvist and have a hard time picking against him against a team that is short on true snipers...The Rangers are a much better team than the Bruins were and I believe Montreal is a better team than Ottawa is...
On the Sens...
To Ottawa's credit, Craig Anderson and Bobby Ryan have really picked it up and are playing the best hockey in their careers right now..also, in my opinion, Guy Boucher should have been one of the three candidates for the Jack Adams. I am a big Guy Boucher fan and what he has done this season is absolutely remarkable. It is hard to argue against the three Adams finalists, but I could put Boucher ahead of Todd McLellan. I mean both took teams to the playoffs, but who really had more to work with?
On the Rangers...
The Rangers are the Rangers though...They are a team that can score in bunches and have tended to be more than a little bit streaky...But when hot they are as good as anyone in the NHL...and they are hot right now...That said, it's easy to forget that they were down 2-1 in the Montreal series and were not playing well at all just a few days ago...
My pick...
This series comes down to whether or not the Senators can pull the Rangers out of their hot streak early on in the series...If the Sens can win the first two games, or even tonight I'd call this a "pick em" series to be sure. But my instinct is the Rangers learned more about themselves in the Montreal series and are on an upward path.
Join the Discussion:
»