2007 NHL Playoffs: Second Round preview and picks

After going 6-2 with my predictions in round 1, I'm ready to give my predictions for round 2 of the NHL playoffs.

Eastern Conference:

#1 Buffalo Sabres (53-22-7) vs. #6 NY Rangers (42-30-10); Season series: 4-0 Buffalo

On paper this series looks very lopsided. However, one thing to note is that Buffalo and NY finished their season series before Christmas and the Rangers got hot after the calendar turned to 2007. In goal, it's going to be very even with both goalies having the ability to stop the puck. On the defence, you have to give the edge to the younger and more mobile Sabres. Up front, the Rangers can hurt you with two lines, three maybe. The Sabres meanwhile can roll all four lines and that's dangerous in a long series. On special teams, it's no contest with the Sabres sending out ever dangerous puck-moving and the Rangers only having really one dangerous five-man unit.

Rangers will win if: they shut down the speedy line of Afinogenov, Briere and Connolly/Drury. Also, the Rangers must carry the momentum of a round 1 sweep of the Thrashers into Buffalo, NY. Finally, the Rangers must stay out of the penalty box.

Sabres will win if: they continue to be the highest scoring home team. Their best players must be just that: their best players. Miller needs to continue to prove to management that they did the right thing in trading back-up Biron. It's crucial that the Sabres utilize their dangerous speed game against the Ranger's bigger and slower D-men.

My pick: Sabres in 6

#2 NJ Devils (49-24-9) vs. #4 Ottawa Senators (48-25-9); season series: 3-1 New Jersey

In goal, the Devils will have the edge against any team as long as Brodeur is healthy. Brodeur has been the world #1 goalie for years and if this game comes down to a battle of the goalies, the Devils will take the series as Ray Emery is just a first-year starter. On defense, you have to go with the Devils trap style that will frustrate a team like Ottawa who play a more open, run-and-gun style. Up front, you have to give the Sens the edge to more depth.

Devils will win if: Martin Brodeur plays like Martin Brodeur, the forwards spot him a lead and the Devils play the trap to perfection and stay out of the penalty box.

Senators will win if: Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson light it up, Volchenkov and Phillips shut down Elias, Gomez, and Gionta and Emery stands on his head.

My pick: Senators in seven.

Western Conference:

#1 Detroit Red Wings (50-19-13) vs. #5 San Jose Sharks (51-26-5); season series: 3-1 Sharks

This series is going to be about health and durability. Perhaps the biggest question mark is in net where the Wings will be praying that the 42-year-old Dominik Hasek's groin holds up to what is bound to be a bigger test than the Flames mustered. He'll have to deal with three solid lines that will be shooting every chance they get. At the other end of the rink is Evgeni Nabakov who will be looking to avenge 2002, when they lost to the Wings in round 1. The back-ups are both inconsistent at best. On defense, the Wings feature two norris trophy candidates in Chelios and Lidstrom and the Sharks counter with a mix of veterns and youngsters who will give the Wings fits, give the edge to the Wings. Up front, the play will be dead even with both teams solid up front.

The Wings will win if: Hasek stays healthy and continues his fine play from round one. Also, Datsyuk and Zetteberg must provide a solid one-two punch. Bertuzzi must not be a floater in this series and must contribute.

The Sharks will win if: Thorton and Marleau come through, the Sharks stay out of the penalty box and the Sharks shut down Calder, Zetteberg, Datsyuk, Bertuzzi. Also, they must wear down Chelios.

My pick: Wings in 6

#2 Anaheim Ducks (48-20-14) vs. #3 Vancouver Canucks (49-26-7); season series: 3-1 Ducks

Again, on paper this looks like a mismatch with the Ducks having two Norris winners in Scott Neidermeyer and Chris Pronger controlling their blueline. Up front, the Ducks have a lot of speed with Selanne, Getzlaf and Perry and McDonald. Stop those four and the Canucks might just have a shot at this thing. Sami Salo's injury suffered in game seven is a concern as the Canucks would miss his booming slap shot on the PP and ability to defend on the PK. In goal, the canucks have world #2 goalie Luongo who should prevail if it comes down to a batlle of the goalies.

Ducks will win if: they burn the Canucks with their speed, draw a lot of penalties, and Pronger and Neidermeyer shut down the Sedins, Naslund, Pyatt.

Canucks will win if: they stay healthy, particularly in goal and on defense. They MUST stay out of the penalty box and take advantage of their PP chances. Also, in order to be successful, they must expose the flightless Ducks slight weakness in goal by getting traffic infrom of Giguere/Bryzgalov and going hard to the net for rebounds. A final thing they must do is shut down Selanne, Rob Neidermeyer, Getzlaf and Perry. I truly believe this team can pull it off because Luongo is determined to go deep in the playoffs.

My pick: Canucks in six.

2007 NHL Playoff preview and first round predictions

Eastern Conference:

#1 Buffalo Sabres (53-22-7) vs. #8 NY Islanders (40-30-12); season series: 3-1 Bufallo

The NY Islanders sneaked into the playoffs with a win in game 82 of their season over the NJ Devils, whereas the Buffalo Sabres have been assured of a playoff spot and top spot in the NE division for at least a month their playoff bound and a week that they won the President's Trophy. On paper the Sabres should take the series easily, but the Islanders have been playing desparate playoff hockey the last month just to make it to the post-season. As well, in the past the President's trophy team has bowed out early as teams like to face the best. Goaltending wise, the Sabres have a decided edge with all-star Ryan Miller between the pipes whereas the Isles will be forced to with third stringer Wade Dubelewicz and should he fail, the struggling Mike Dunham will be forced into action, at least until later in the round and only if it goes five or more when starter Rick DiPietro may return from a cocussion, but he'll likely be rusty after missing a month. On defense, the Sabres boast good young defensemen, and as they demonstrated last season in the playoffs when injuries decimated their defensive corps, they have pretty good depth beyond their top four. The Isles can also play defense, which is a good part of the reason why their here. Up front, the Sabres have four sizzling lines that can score led by superstars Briere and Afinoginov right down to fourth liners Pominville and Stafford, where as the Isles will be relying on PP specialist Smyth, inconsistent captain Yashin, who really hasn't lived up to his lucrative contract. In short, this series will come down to depth, which the Sabres have and the Isles don't.

My Pick: Sabres in five.

#2 NJ Devils (49-24-9) vs. #7 Tampa Bay Lightning (44-33-5); season series: 3-1 Tampa Bay

Any team would stand a chance with arguably the best goalie in the world in Martin Brodeur between the pipes as the Devils are lucky to have. He'll easily win the goaltending battle against the inconsistent Marc Denis. Defensively, the Devils neutral zone trap will frustrate the Lightning's forwards into coughing up the puck and Brodeur knows how to handle it as well, acting as a sixth player at times. The Lightning play a more wide open style that will struggle against the Devils counterattack. Up front, Gionta, Elias and Gomez form a dangerous top line, after that, their not as dangerous as the Lightning can be.

My Pick: Devils in 6


#3 Atlanta Thrashers (43-28-11) vs. #6 NY Rangers (42-30-10); season series: 3-1 Atlanta

The Thrashers boast a tough goalie in Kari Lehtonen, but the Rangers Henrik Lundqvist, arguably the second and third best goalies in the Eastern conference. It should be an even match-up between the goalies. When Jason Strudwick and Marek Malik mke up your top defensive pairing, you're in big trouble. The Thrashers are only slightly better defensively. A lot has been made of the Thrashers decision to pick up Tkachuk at the deadline, but he has quitely produced and will be a strong leader for the youngsters in the Thrashers line-up. Free agent signing Brendan Shanahan had a similar effect on the Rangers. The Rangers and Thrashers both boast a good mix of young and older players, with the Thrashers superstars being younger. Ultimately this series will come down to the forwards, the goalies and special teams.

My pick: Rangers in 7

#4 Ottawa Senators (48-25-9) vs. #5 Pittsburgh Penguins (47-24-11): season series: 3-1 Pittsburgh

This will be the tighest of the four Eastern series and perhaps the highest scoring with two teams that have players that can light it up, the Penguins have Sid the Kid Crosby, Malkin, and Staal and the Senators will counter with Alfredson, Heatley, and Spezza. Defensively, the Senators have a strong top pairing of Chris Phillips and Joe Corvo with a second pairing featuring 21-year-old Andrej Meszaros and Wade Redding. The Penguins have veteran Gonchar and Ray Whitney. I feel the Senators have more depth defensively, and the Penguins have the edge with their forwards. Ultimately, it will come down to which teams goalies do worse. Ray Emery has proven himself to be a capable #1, but Marc-Andre Fluery is prone to giving up big rebounds.

My Pick: Senators in 6

Western Conference:

#1 Detroit Red Wings (50-19-13) vs. #8 Calgary Flames (43-29-10): season series ties 2-2

On paper judging by the regular season standings the Flames are in for a whipping. However, the Red Wings lost to the Flames just three seasons ago, albeit pre-lockout. Perhaps the biggest question mark for the Red Wings will be the health and durability of their aging players (Chelios, Hasek, Lidstrom). For the Flames their question mark is whether Kipper can dominate in the playoffs despite not exactly dominating the league. Also, the Flames must continue to win on the road, where they'll need to win at least once and likely two or three times. I call the goaltending edge even with both Hasek and Kipper capable of slamming the door shut. Defensively, the Red Wings get the nod with two former Norris trophy winners on their blueline. Offensively, Iginla will be a force for the Flames as will Conroy and Tanguay. However, the Red Wings have a lot of good young talent up front (Zetteberg, Datsyuk). The series will go the distance. If the Flames are physical, which they should be, they'll wear down the Wings wily veterans and break up their puck possession game.

My Pick: Flames in seven

#2 Anaheim Ducks (48-20-14) vs. #7 Minnesota Wild (48-26-8): season series tied 2-2

A re-match of the 2003 West Final, features two defense-first teams. Both these teams, especially the Wild, will wait for the opportunity and then steal the puck and use a strong transition game to score. Expect this to be a tight, low-scoring series that will go the distance.

My pick: Wild in 7

#3 Vancouver Canucks (49-26-7) vs. #6 Dallas Stars (50-25-7): season series tied 2-2

Statistcally, these two teams are dead even with the Stars holding a slight edge in wins, points, goals for and goals against (four each). The Canucks should have the goaltending edge, assuming Luongo doesn't have any playoff jitters. Defensively, the teams are dead even and up front the Canucks have a slight edge with a bit more depth.

My pick: Canucks in seven by a Luongo toe save.

#4 Nasville Predators (51-23-8) vs. #5 San Jose Sharks (51-26-5): season series: 3-1 Nashville

Again, two dead even teams with the Preds having the edge up front and in goal and the Sharks dangerous on special teams and on defense. You can almost flip a coin with this one.

my pick: Sharks in 7