Post by bjernagris (PHI) on Jul 16, 2017 12:58:04 GMT -5
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins
The Preview
Two of the league’s most classic teams face off in this first round matchup. Having been hit hard with injuries before the season even began, the Maple Leafs mounted an impressive comeback late in the season finishing with East’s fifth best record after going 22-5-0 since mid-February. They were seven points out of the playoffs at that point. Leafs management stayed unusually quiet during the season, perhaps already having started to focus on the next one after their injuries early on, but it seems to have brought together the group of players in Toronto, and especially Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a bounce-back year after a couple of sub-par seasons. Finnish rookie Roope Hintz had a strong season, and Stelio Mattheos started to show why the Leafs picked him in the first round back in 2017. The Bruins, who have only made it past the first playoff round once in the past five seasons despite having a star studded roster, finished first in the Atlantic after leading the league in goals. The additions of star players Nicklas Bäckström and Sami Vatanen, along with experienced winger Rick Nash, has the Bruins looking like a true contender this season. Regular season matchups ended tied 2-2, with one of Boston’s wins coming after shootout.
The Storyline
Will the Leafs be able to keep riding their crazy form into the playoffs and cause an upset of the mighty Bruins?
The Key Player, Maple Leafs
Ryan Strome – the highest paid player in the league this season has quickly become a fan favorite in Toronto, and for good reason; his combination of speed and skill is a pleasure to watch and he will need to bring all of it to help his Leafs past the first round this year
The Key Player, Bruins
Sami Vatanen – averaging almost a point-per-game since arriving from Los Angeles, Vatanen is that power play quarterback that the Bruins have missed since Ray Bourque.
The Prediction
Bruins in five
Buffalo Sabres vs. Ottawa Senators
The Preview
Arguably the hottest first round matchup of all this year, the intense rivalry forming between these two Atlantic teams in recent years has been a pleasure to follow. Last season saw these teams clash in an epic second round battle where the Senators come out on top after seven games in which the Sabres dictated most of the play. As for this season, the Sabres struggled a bit early on, finding it difficult to fill the holes of departed trio Guindon, Vatanen and Niederreiter, but eventually found their rhythm. Their deadline moves, adding Cup winning goalie Jake Allen and underrated defensive winger Justin Kirkland while Rocco Grimaldi and PK Subban left the team, seem to have boosted the team, finishing with a 15-4-1 post-deadline record. The Senators, being limited from making moves by a challenging cap situation, have remained uncharacteristically calm on the trade market during the season, and rumours surrounding a deadline sale never materialized. Captain Kyle Turris has had a monster season for the Senators, scoring above a point-per-game and reaching the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career. It remains to be seen how much the late-season injury to second line center Mika Zibanejad will impact the Senators’ performance. Regular season matchups ended 3-2 Buffalo.
The Storyline
Will this year’s series pick up where last year’s ended?
The Key Player, Sabres
Jack Eichel – the young franchise center reached the 40 goals and 90 points plateau for the first time in his career this season, and has shown that he can maintain his play during important games
The Key Player, Senators
Erik Karlsson – after a slow start to the season, the world class defenseman found his form and enters the playoffs with 9 points in his last 10 games
The Prediction
Sabres in six
Hartford Whalers vs. Philadelphia Flyers
The Preview
Last year’s champion and this year’s President’s Trophy winner going up against the final wild card team, one would think this series could surely only end one way. On paper Philadelphia looks like the stronger team in this matchup but both teams are heading into the playoffs with questionable form, both going 4-6-0 in their final 10 regular season games. Overall the Flyers have had another strong season, led by seemingly ageless captain and last year’s Conn Smythe winner Claude Giroux, and the core from last year’s Cup win remains intact. Furthermore, the team has been reinforced with Russian star winger Nikita Kucherov, and boasts one of the strongest goalie tandems in the league in Rask/Guindon. This is Hartford’s third straight playoff appearance, having been eliminated by the Sabres in the first round in previous seasons. They have yet again found themselves behind the mighty Atlantic trio (Bruins, Senators, Sabres) and have had to accept their fate as wild card team. Traditionally, the Whalers tend to stay quiet and this season has been no exception, with only depth piece Nazem Kadri being brought in at trade deadline. Regular season matchups ended 2-1 Flyers.
The Storyline
Will the star studded young core in Hartford prove to the oldies in Philly that their glory days are finally over?
The Key Player, Whalers
Aaron Ekblad – allstar defenseman and dubbed “the next Shea Weber”, the powerhouse blue liner needs to bring his best game in this series to help his team get past the current champions
The Key Player, Flyers
Mark Friedman – as Hartford get most of their scoring from their first line, Flyers number one defenseman will be counted on to shut out the Whalers top trio
The Prediction
Flyers in six
New Jersey Devils vs. New York Islanders
The Preview
The Devils make their first playoff appearance in five seasons, whereas Islanders are here for the fifth straight year. New Jersey, having gone through a long and painful rebuild rose from the ashes this season and finished third in the Metro, led by offseason acquisitions Evgeni Malkin and Dougie Hamilton. Young center Michael McLeod is having a breakout season, finally showing signs that he is worth the first round pick that was spent on him in 2016. Reliable scoring winger Jason Zucker was brought in from Minnesota in January, but is unfortunately day-to-day with an upper-body injury to start this series. The Islanders have been contenders for the title for the past few seasons without being able to make that final push. So far their longest run was in 2018, which brought them to the Cup finals and a 2-4 loss against the Predators. Icing an impressive top-six forward line, led by this season’s league leader in points John Tavares, fans on Long Island are hoping that this is the year when everything finally falls into place for the Islanders. However, pundits have expressed concerns about their defense, which is fairly inexperienced, and King Henrik’s play which has declined this season. Regular season matchups ended 4-1 Devils, with one of NJ’s Ws coming in a shootout.
The Storyline
Will the Dougie Hamilton trade, which saw the star offensive D-man move from Islanders to Devils last offseason, come back to bite the New York team?
The Key Player, Devils
Dougie Hamilton – the only defenseman in the league to lead his team in points this season, Hamilton also led the league in ATOI. That is the definition of key player, right there.
The Key Player, Islanders
John Tavares – the scoringest player in the league has proven he is worth every penny of that $10.3m contract he signed four years ago. Need to build on the 5 points he scored against the Devils in regular season.
The Prediction
Devils in seven