Before I get to my Eastern Conference take, I want to remind you that SlapShot Radio’s annual Playoff Preview show is tonight at 7pm on 102.5 the Game. Our guests include the Voice of the Anaheim Ducks, John Ahlers and our good friend Jeff Marek from Sportsnet. Join us tonight and you will get all the info you need for the start of the playoffs!
-----------------------------------
Time to look at the Eastern Conference as the playoffs get started tonight…
Capitals / Flyers
One team comes in with expectations, one team comes in with inspiration… this one could be a lot of fun… or a complete blowout.
Washington has high expectations heading into the second season as they destroyed everyone in their path to the President’s Trophy, winning by 11 points and winning the East and Metro by 16 points. They were simply a machine until a small mediocre streak in their last ten, where they went 4-3-3… still capturing over 50% of the points available in that ten game span.
Offensively they are dominant, five players over 50 or more points (TJ Oshie, Justin Williams, Nik Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin) and three of them over 70 (Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Backstrom.) Washington can fill the net. This group of forwards have also adjusted to the “mad scientist… mixing and matching lines as is head coach Barry Trotz’s inclination. The Capitals also have solid role players in Daniel Winnik, Jay Beagle and Mike Richards.
Defensively the Caps saw quite a few injuries, but they have gotten healthy at the right time… which should scare the crap out of the rest of the playoff field. John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, Boorks Orpik, Karl Alzner, Matt Niskanen… quite possibly the second best blueline in the playoffs. In net… Braden Holtby has been the best goaltender in the NHL this season…
For Philly, it was supposed to be a bit of a rebuilding year and that was the case for the first half of the season… then the All-Star Break hit and the Flyers came back a different team, posting a 20-9-6 record since the mid-winter break and grabbing the last wild card spot, completely overwhelming expectations for this team. As the playoffs begin, the Flyers are morning the loss of their owner, Ed Snider who passed on the day after they clinched their playoff spot. I wonder what motivation that may supply to this overachieving team.
Offensively, Philly is led by Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier… they need Jakub Vorachek to get back to the Vorachek they are used to if they are going to compete in this series. His recovery from a lower body injury has been a little longer than expected and his play has not been up to snuff in the run up to the second season.
Defensively, they are led by a rookie, the Ghost… Shane Gostisbehere, probably the best offensive defenseman the Flyers have had in a long, long time. The rest of the blueline is serviceable, but weak against a strong cycle game… not a good thing heading into a series with Washington. IN net, the Flyers have Steve Mason, who has been stellar down the stretch… they have to hope that Mason stays healthy as there really isn’t a solid backup option for Philly.
You gotta give rookie head coach Dave Hakstol a lot of credit for this team, they are playing with house money against a team with gargantuan expectations. So the question becomes, inspiration vs. expectation… whatever team handles it better wins the series.
Panthers vs. Islanders
The Florida Panthers are back in the playoffs for the first time in four seasons and looking to win their first playoff series in 20 years… the New York Islanders are in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons and are looking to win their first playoff series since 1993. Florida won the Atlantic Division title, only the second division crown in their history.
Florida is led offensively by a potent first line consisting of exciting young talent and a grizzled veteran. Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov are the young talent, and the ageless wonder, Jaromir Jagr has provided the developmental leadership so needed by young players… and because of Jagr’s influence, these two youngsters have blossomed. The Panthers also picked up some very solid role players at the trade deadline, Jiri Hudler and Teddy Percell also bring some much needed playoff experience to this team.
Defensively, GM Dale Tallon has assembled a very good group, led by Aaron Ekblad and Brian Campbell… adding depth at the deadline with the acquisition of Jakub Kindl… question marks regarding health surround Willie Mitchell and Eric Gudbranson, the Cats will need these two to make a deep run. In net, another ageless wonder in Roberto Luongo who is calabnly backed up by veteran Al MOntoya
The New York Islanders managed to survive a late season swoon that almost saw them slide out of the playoffs entirely, but they managed to win reverse that slump, going 6-3-1 in their last ten to seal the top Wild Card spot in the East.
Offensively, the Islanders have four 20 goal scorers and play a solid two-way game led by their captain, John Tavares. He leads a solid if unspectacular group of forwards including Brock Nelson, Kyle Okposo and Franz Nielsen. The Isles start the playoffs without Anders Lee (broken leg) and Mikhail Grabovski, out with an upper body injury. New York desperately needs forward Ryan Strome to recapture the magic of last season if they are going to make any kind of a run.
Defensively, injury is the story as well, as the team could begin the playoffs without Travis Harmonic who sustained a lower body injury at the end of March. Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy may have to munch up more minutes as the Islanders defensive depth will be sorely tested as head coach Jack Capuano will have to round out his blue line with Calvin de Haan, Marek Zidlicky, Thomas Hickey, Brian Strait, Scott Mayfield or a potential callup in 2013 top pick Ryan Pulock. In net… you guessed it… injuries again… Top netminder Jaroslav Halak will probably miss the first round so the Islanders will have to rely on Thomas Greiss, who has had a very good season but has limited playoff experience.
This looks like a good draw for the Panthers, a winnable series against a hurt team that will give Florida valuable experience in the second round... unless New York’s Brock Nelson finds his game again and can effectively replace Lee, that could give the Islanders what they need to pull an upset here.
Lightning / Red Wings
More drama than usual surrounds these two teams as their first round series begins. Injuries galore for Tampa, barely sliding into the playoffs for Detroit. Injuries for the Lightning, will Datsyuk stay or go? A rematch of last season’s epic first round series awaits.
Offensively, this series could’ve been a real mismatch… then Steven Stamkos was diagnosed with a blood clot under his collarbone that required surgery and threw the Lightning into a little bit of chaos. The team will now have to count on the “Triplets… and … wait for it … the Prodigal Bolt, Jonathan Drouin. After all the drama mid-season, the Lightning find themselves having to depend on the youngster to deliver what he thinks he can. This bears watching… The Lightning have a solid forward supporting cast of Vatteri Filppula, Ryan Callahan and JT Brown.
Defensively, Tampa Bay has an even more impacting injury, Anton Stralman’s broken leg is a killer. This is a decent defense with an under achieving Matt Carle, a very good Victor Hedman and the muscle, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Sustr and Jason Garrison… it is serviceable without Stralman, but no more than that… which puts a lot more pressure on Ben Bishop between the pipes.
Detroit sealed its 25th consecutive playoffs appearance, but this is not your dad’s Red Wing team. This team is struggling to score goals, has goaltending issues and a just so-so blueline.
Offensively, if it wasn’t for the performance of rookie Dylan Larkin, this team doesn’t make the playoffs. After a production falloff from Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist and an OK season from Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, well… this team Is far from an offensive juggernaut, they are the one of two teams in the playoffs with a negative goal differential but they do seem to score just enough to do the job… a key to playoff success.
On the blueline, they are just OK. With no real number one defenseman, they are a patchwork of decent players… Danny DeKeyser, Niklas Kronwall, Mike Green, Kyle Quincey… like I said, decent… but no one to strike fear into an opponent’s heart. In net, there are questions... Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard have been excellent in spurts and Howard may have wrested the number one moniker with his play late in the season… this drama definitely bears watching.
This will be a fun series and could be the last roundup for Pavel Datsyuk…
Penguins / Rangers
The New York Rangers have the unenviable task of playing the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of, if not THE hottest team in the NHL for the last 20 games of the season… and doing it without the injured Evgeny Malkin.
For the Broadway Blueshirts, their offense begins and ends with Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello. They have solid depth up the middle and good role players, but Rick Nash has got to figure out a way to perform in the playoffs and NY could use some production from Chris Kreider and Eric Staal. If they get any kind of production from those three players, Pittsburgh may struggle with this team.
On defense, the Rangers are banged up… Ryan McDonagh missed the last three games of the season and Dan Girardi missed the last two… big losses for the Rangers… Hoever, their defensive depth may save them as they also sport Marc Staal, Keith Yandle, Dan Boyle and Kevin Klein… a major concern for New York. In net… the King, Henrik Lundqvist will be in net… ‘nuff said.
For Pittsburgh, they finally appear to be playing to their capability. Sidney Crosby is back in form, Phil Kessel has been good, Niuck Bonino has filled in well for Malkin and they have done a good job in using callus from the Baby Pens to cover injuries in the bottom six. One underrated pickup that is starting to get his due, 39 year old Matt Cullen has been a stabilizing force for the youngsters and has had a bounce back year in Pittsburgh.
On the blueline, Kris Letang has been simply outstanding this season, Olli Maatta is hurt and being described as “week-to-week… Justin Schultz and Trevor Daley have been serviceable. They may have to depend more on goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery… or perhaps, 21 year old Matthew Murray… while Fluery hasn’t been spectacular in the post season lately, if he gets on a roll… watch out.
Let the games begin!
-----------------------------------
------------------------------------- Season eight of SlapShot Radio is on! Join us every Wednesday night at 7 on 102.5 the Game. Pete Weber and I preview the upcoming week and take a look back at the week that was. This week is our annual playoff preview show with John Ahlers and Jeff Marek.
SlapShot Radio is the longest running hockey show in the mid-south delivering great hockey talk to the most energetic and engaged fans in radio. Our premier, day one sponsor is Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762. Also, our newest member of the SSR Sponsorship family is Mark Lonsway at ReMax Fine Homes, call him for all your real estate needs at (615) 207-7799.
Advertisers… reach out to me to access our activated listener base via email at paul(@)slapshotradio(dot)com
You can also keep up with all the goings on with SlapShot Radio by following the show on Twitter @SlapShotRadio1 … Also... make sure to "like" SlapShot Radio on Facebook... here's the link.
-------------------------------------
KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Predators Buzz, a one-stop feed for all things Predators-related on HockeyBuzz. Your subscription includes a free 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month thereafter. For more information, click here.