Washington Capitals
vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Sure, it's got to be the Caps' year, and sure they're trying to play defense for a change because people from a long-gone generation believe the football cliché that ''defense wins championships'' is true for hockey., when in fact, it's no longer true. Chicago 2010? Pittsburgh 2009? Detroit 2008? Edmonton 1984-90 (except for two years)? Pittsburgh 1991 and 1992? A killer offense beats a serious D. But the Caps don't wanna go all-out on Tampa, and I'll tell you right now: 35 shots a game on Dwayne Roloson is not enough to win against him in the playoffs. 60, maybe.
The only reason I see this series going the distance is that when Tampa will lead it 2-0 or 3-1, Alex Ovechkin
will win 2 by himself. But it'll be too little, too late. And Bruce Boudreau
will lose his job.Lightning in 7
Philadelphia Flyers
vs Boston Bruins
I fully expect Tim Thomas
to win one or two by himself - despite the borderline-racist comments he made about P.K. Subban
after the Montréal series. But the Bruins' defense has proven to be slow, and the Flyers will knock them on their asses for two full weeks, maybe even injure a couple of them. Maybe Andrew Ferrence can get a taste of his own medicine. And the Flyers' top-5 defenseman are all better than Boston's #2 guy. This is uneven.Flyers in 6
Vancouver Canucks
vs Nashville Predators
The Canucks can win a series without the Sedin twins
at their peak, just with super-utility players Alexandre Burrows
and Ryan Kessler; Roberto Luongo'
s back in shape. No chance for Nashville, despite their awesome defenders and goalie: their offense made of pea shooters just won't be able to get the job done in the long run.Canucks in 6
San Jose Sharks
vs Detroit Red Wings
The firepower and goaltending is about even in this series, but the Wings are a team full of winners (Stanley Cups and Olympics), while the Sharks remain the chokers par excellence. And I so wouldn't mind history repeating itself.
Wings in 6
No comments:
Post a Comment