NHL Playoff Round 1 Recap

The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs ended yesterday as both the Ottawa Senators and the Washington Capitals ended their respective playoff series in 6 games with overtime victories away from home. This round of the NHL playoffs had more overtime games, 18, than any in history, proving that there is no easy series if and when you make it to the postseason. It also proved once again that the regular season standings are virtually meaningless, the important thing is to simply make it to the postseason. Both the #1 and #2 teams in the West went out in the first round as did the #1 team in the Atlantic Division. Let's recap the first round series and compare it to my earlier predictions:

Eastern Conference
Washington Capitals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs - Result: Caps in 6; my prediction: Caps in 5.
The Leafs put a helluva scare into the top team in the league this year as five of the six games in this series went to overtime and the other game was just a one-goal game as well. Toronto is a young, talented team that will be a threat to win the Cup for years to come. The Leafs got their fair share of lucky breaks and bounces but capitalized almost every time. They kept throwing the puck on net and making life difficult for Caps goalie Braden Holtby.  Washington, however, was simply awful in this series. They looked tight throughout, sat back with a lead, made far too many turnovers, always kept looking for the perfect play, and missed the net on numerous glorious opportunities way too often. And when their shots were on target, Frederick Andersen was outstanding, clearly outplaying the Vezina-nominated Holtby in this series. To be fair, much of the Caps difficulty was induced by Toronto's speed and relentless pressure. In the end, though, the Caps had just enough when they needed it to survive this series. But Washington won't advance any further if they continue to play like that.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets - Result: Penguins in 5; my prediction: Penguins in 6.
Columbus just could not stop Pittsburgh on the defensive end, especially with Vezina-nominated Sergei Bobrovsky having a poor series in net. The Blue Jackets penalty killing was woeful, giving up five power play goals and they just could not score even when dominating play. Marc Andre Fleury stepped in as an emergency starter in game 1 and was superb throughout all five games, making up for the Pens defensive deficiencies with the loss of Kris Letang. With the return of Evgeny Malkin, the Penguins just had too much firepower for Columbus and it never felt like they were threatened in this series.

Ottawa Senators vs. Boston Bruins - Result: Ottawa in 6; my prediction: Bruins in 7.
This was another ridiculously tight series, with four of the six games going to overtime and the other two being one goal affairs as well. The Bruins weakness on defense was apparent throughout as they had lost two of their starters before the playoffs began and lost two more during the course of the series. It was just too much to overcome. Ottawa's win was full of heartwarming stories. Clarke MacArthur scored the series-clincher in overtime, just his second goal of the entire season after missing most of the last two years with concussion related symptoms. Craig Anderson was big in net for the Sens after his own tumultuous season where he had to take personal leave from the team twice as his wife dealt with cancer. And Sens defenseman Erik Karlsson is just a stud. Despite apparently playing with two hairline fractures in his ankle, he logged over 40 minutes in ice time in game 5's double overtime loss and around 30 minutes in yesterday's overtime win. And he can dominate both ends of the rink when he is on the ice.

Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers - Result: Rangers in 6; my prediction: Rangers in 6.
It's hard to imagine that the most physical series in the East involved these two teams, but it was so. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist outplayed his Vezina-nominated counterpart, Carey Price, just enough to allow New York to advance. The Rangers had more offensive firepower than the Habs and the Canadiens power play was impotent. And, like Columbus, the Habs could not score even when they thoroughly dominated much of the game. Their offensive futility was exemplified by Max Pacioretty who had no goals in the series, despite leading the entire playoffs in shots through six games, and Tomas Plekanec's having the bottom two-thirds and the top half of the net wide open and putting the potential game tying goal in game 6 into Lundqvist's pad.

Western Conference

Chicago Black Hawks vs. Nashville Predators - Result: Nashville in 4; my prediction: Nashville in 7.
The Predators simply smothered the Hawks in this series. They were too fast, hit too much and too hard, and gave the Hawks no time or space. And when the Hawks did get chances, Pekka Rinne took care of it. Chicago's stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were taken out of the series and the Preds speed made the Hawks defense look half a step slow and, frankly, a little old. Nashville was the dominant team and deserved the sweep.

Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues - Result: Blues in 5; my prediction: Blues in 7.
Thankfully for Wild coach Bruce Boudreau, the Blues won game 5 in overtime, saving him from yet again the possibility of losing the first round in a game 7. In many ways, the Blues effort matched what Nashville did to Chicago. A stifling defense kept the Wild's scorers at bay and, when Minnesota did get their chances, Jake Allen was there to save the day. And the Blues got just enough scoring from unlikely sources to win a series that was probably closer than the five games indicate.

Anaheim Ducks vs. Calgary Flames - Result: Ducks in 4; my prediction: Ducks in 5.
The Ducks are a veteran, tested team and the Flames team as presently constructed was making its first real visit to the playoffs. And it showed. Brian Elliott could not make up for the Flames defensive lapses and the Flames scoring relied mostly on their power play. In the end, the Ducks experience and good goaltending was just too much for the talented, yet young Flames.

San Jose Sharks vs. the Edmonton Oilers - Result: Oilers in 6; my prediction: Sharks in 7.
This was a great series to watch. The Oilers love to just go up and down at a breakneck pace and the Sharks used to like that style as well. But the Oilers are younger, faster, and more talented and it showed throughout the series. It didn't help that the Sharks top centers, Joe Thornton and Logan Couture were hobbled with injuries in the series or that the San Jose power play was impotent. The Oilers were always going to be able to score, and they did, and Cam Talbot had a good series as well, propelling Edmonton to the victory.

I'll be back with Round 2 predictions tomorrow.