JIM LANG ON SPORTS
By: Jim Lang
THE NHL PLAYOFFS
Like all Canadians this is the time of the year I look forward to; the start of the NHL playoffs. With that in mind here is how I see each series playing out:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
• Bruins and the Red Wings
This has the makings of a very good series. Despite their numerous injuries this year the Red Wings still went 3-1 in the season series head-to-head with the Bruins. The Red Wings’ secret weapon this year has been Gustav Nyquist. With 12 goals in March, Nyquist ended up scoring 28 goals in only 57 games this season. The great equalizer in this series is Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask. One of the top tenders in the Eastern Conference, Rask ended the year with a .930 save percentage and 2.04 goals against average.
Who wins: Make no mistake; Mike Babcock has done a marvelous job with the Red Wings this year. The problem for Detroit is their first round opponent went 17-2-4 to end the season. The Bruins also have Patrice Bergeron. Not only does Bergeron get my vote as the smartest player in the league, he also scored 30 goals. If Babcock is really lucky, Henrik Zetterberg might be ready to return to the line-up late in the series. But by then, it will likely be too late. The Bruins are deeper, tougher and have an edge in goal with Rask; that is why they will win this series in six games.
• Canadiens and the Lightning
Marc Bergevin and Michel Therrien deserve to be applauded for the work they have done with the Canadiens this year. Bergevin has brought in the right kind of players and Therrien has kept them focused all year and the end result is the only Canadian based team to make the post-season.
Who wins: Much like Therrien, Jon Cooper has done a solid job coaching the Lightning this season. Especially in a year where Steven Stamkos missed a huge chunk of games due to injury and Martin St. Louis was dealt at the deadline. They were able to overcome all of that but they won’t overcome the injury to goalie Ben Bishop. Meanwhile in Montreal Carey Price has enjoyed a fabulous season. With their edge in goal, PK Subban and balance throughout the line-up the Habs win this series in five games
• Penguins and the Blue Jackets
The big X-factor in this series is Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. In 2012 Fleury was shelled by the Flyers and ended up with a save percentage of .834%. That was followed up by an equally hideous effort last year against the Islanders and the Bruins where he posted a save percentage of .883%. In his last three full games against the Islanders Fleury gave up 16 goals. The Penguins have no hope of beating the Blue Jackets or anybody else if they keep getting shoddy goaltending like that. Sidney Crosby had another fabulous season but with-out solid goaltending, the Pens are doomed.
Who wins: I just can’t shake the feeling that MAF will let the Penguins down. The Blue Jackets also boast one of the best kept secrets in the NHL, forward Ryan Johansen. Johansen quietly put together a 33 goal, 63 point season. I realize that I am going out on a mighty big limb here, but I am calling the Blue Jackets to pull off the huge upset and take the series in seven games. #Lumbus
• Rangers and the Flyers
Craig Berube likely won’t receive many votes for coach of the year, but he should. After taking over as the Head Coach of the Flyers Berube steered the team to a 42-27-10 record and a berth in the playoffs. It also didn’t hurt the Flyers that Claude Giroux took his game to another level for the last four months of the season. Alain Vigneault had a slow start to his Rangers coaching career then by the time November rolled around the team really hit their stride and never looked back.
Who wins: While the Rangers have an edge in goaltending, the Flyers have a distinct advantage up front. The Flyers also have the best player on either team in this series, Claude Giroux. After a slow start Giroux re-emerged as one of the elite forwards in the NHL and is the reason the Flyers will win this series in six games.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
• Avalanche and the Wild
Nobody is questioning the decision of the Avs to hire Patrick Roy now. The mercurial Roy turned out to be a good fit for the Avs. Under Roy the Avs went from being the worst team in the West to a 52 win, 112 point season.
Who wins: The Avs are mediocre at defending (ranked 24th in goals against) but geez, they are exciting to watch. Loaded up front with young studs who can really dangle the Avs go into the post-season ranked fourth in the NHL in goals per game. Rookie Nathan MacKinnon won’t turn 19 until September and ended up with an impressive 24 goals and 63 points. While I like the Wild’s addition of Matt Moulson, they simply don’t have the horses up front the Avs can throw at you. The Avs end up winning the series in six games.
• Blues and Blackhawks
Of all the teams the Blues had to face in the first round, they had to run into the Blackhawks. The Blues have to have a little doubt in the back of their mind. They lost six straight games to end the season and they lost their last two regular season meetings against the Hawks.
Who wins: The Blues are everyone’s sexy pick to represent the West in the Stanley Cup Final. Too bad they have to play the Blackhawks in the opening round. Too bad for the Blues that both Kane Toews are on the verge of being declared healthy and return to return to Chicago’s line-up. That is why the Blackhawks will win this series in seven games.
• Ducks and Stars
I can’t lie; I loved seeing the love-in for Teemu Selanne as he did his farewell victory lap the other night in Anaheim. But Selanne isn’t done playing quite yet because the Ducks are a team built to do some damage in the post-season. The key to the Ducks is their wonderful duo of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. The Ducks also boast more balance through their line-up than the Stars. After Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn the Stars don’t have anyone else that can hurt you offensively.
Who wins: The Stars are a nice story this year. I like what Jim Nill and Lindy Ruff are building in Dallas. I definitely like the year that Tyler Seguin just had. But the Ducks offence will be too much for the Stars to handle. The Ducks win this series in five games.
• Sharks and the Kings
The Kings allowed the fewest goals of any team in the NHL. They are also ranked 26th in goals for. The Sharks on the other hand are a great balance of both offence and defence. The Sharks are ranked in the top 10 in both goals for and goals against. The Kings have the amazing Drew Doughty patrolling their blue-line. The Sharks have fellow Team Canada Gold medalist Marc-Edouard Vlasic manning their blue-line. There is just so little to choose between these two teams.
Who wins: This is going to be a JR (Jim Ross) Slobberknocker of a series. Both are big, physical teams that don’t really like each other very much. Even with Anze Kopitar, the Kings don’t score a ton of goals. They rely on timely goals and stellar goaltending from Jonathan Quick to beat teams.
Meanwhile the Sharks have three players, Marleau, Thornton and Pavelski who had 70 or more points. The Sharks are a tough team to shut-down offensively and because of this, will win a gruelling seven game series.
In the end I like the Sharks and the Bruins to meet in the Cup Finals.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
(Follow Jim on Twitter at @JimLangSports)
