It is time to rejoice, the Stanley Cup playoffs are here! I have loved hockey all of my life for about five years now. I was raised in a city where Kobe and the boys won five championships and the Dodgers served a tremendous Dodger Dog, so watching foreigners play a sport on the ice didn’t really tickle my fancy. That was until I needed to find a new excuse to get out of doing my homework. I’m not even kidding, that’s how it all started. My dad is a huge Los Angeles Kings fan and was able to see the greats like Gretzky, Dionne and Robitaille represent the black and silver so whenever I didn’t want to do homework I would just watch the Kings game with him. Think about it; it is pretty rare for a parent to tell you to do homework instead of spending quality time with them.
Though it started as a get out of homework pass, my love for hockey is now as real as Peyton Manning’s love for Budweiser. The best part about this year's playoffs is that for the first time since 1970 there will not be a team from Canada being represented. Is there anything more American than dominating a sport that we really don’t care about? And if you say that Canadian players still dominate the sport you are wrong. This year was the first year where Canadian players didn’t make up the majority of the league’s players (49.7 percent), also, it was the first year with an American as the leading scorer. Yes, Patrick Kane might be from Buffalo but it is still in America.
If you were to look up the word “treat” in the dictionary it would say, “The new NHL Playoff format.” Starting in 2013, the NHL changed the playoff format to be divisional-based meaning that in the first round of playoffs, teams will play other teams within their division. This simple change has done wonders for the game because it has enhanced rivalries between teams. For example, the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks play about an hour away from each other, depending on the 405, but they weren’t considered real “rivals’ until they met in the 2014 playoffs. Everything is magnified come playoff time and the new format raises the intensity even more.
It has been an exciting year of hockey, as many teams didn’t clinch a birth until the last game of the regular season. Here are my predictions for the first round of playoffs.
Eastern Conference
#1 Florida Panthers vs. #4 New York Islanders
There is a hockey team in Florida? The Panthers cruised through the Atlantic Division and I don’t see the Islanders being able to slow them down. Florida has a solid veteran core led by Jaromir Jagr and Roberto Luongo along with young talent in Aaron Ekblad and Jonathon Huberdeau. The Islanders are a fast paced team that might catch the Panthers off guard but I believe the goaltending of Luongo will be too much for the team from Brooklyn. The only way I see the Panthers blowing this series is if Jaromir Jagr spends too much time online gambling in between games.
Panthers in 6.
#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #3 Detroit Red Wings
Two hockey teams in Florida?! Both in the playoffs? Suck it, Canada. The first round matchup between the Lightning and the Red Wings is a toss up. Tampa Bay refused to stay healthy this year, which caused them to go from a Stanley Cup favorite to a possible first round exit. The Red Wings are always dangerous in the playoffs as they are making their 25th straight appearance. With Pavel Datsyuk announcing that this will be his last year in the league, the Wings will have an advantage from an emotional standpoint. If Jimmy Howard doesn’t choke in the playoffs once again, I believe that the trio of Zetterberg, Larkin and Tatar will be too much for the injury stricken Lightning.
Red Wings in 7.
#1 Washington Capitals vs. #4 Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers are on cloud nine right now. They defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins to squeak into the last playoff spot in the last game of the regular season. Though they will be playing like they have nothing to lose, they will indeed lose to the Capitals. Washington clinched the Eastern Conference before any eastern team clinched a playoff spot and dominated the conference finishing 16 points ahead of the second-place Penguins. Braden Holtby tied the record for most wins by a goaltender in a single season and Alexander Ovechkin is nicknamed after the former king of the Greece.
Capitals in 5.
#2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #3 New York Rangers
The boys from steel country ended the regular season winning eight of their last nine games and look to continue their dominance heading into the playoffs. The Penguins are lead by Captain Canada, Sydney Crosby, who already has plenty of Stanley Cup experience under his wing and hopes to hoist his second Stanley Cup trophy in the upcoming weeks. The speed and talent of Pittsburgh will be too much for the Rangers who tend to rely heavily on Henrik Lundqvist, whose looks are just as good as his goaltending skills. Henrik has the ability to carry the Rangers like he has in the past but Crosby and company will be too much to handle for New York.
Penguins in 6.
Western Conference
#1 Dallas Stars vs. #4 Minnesota Wild
The Stars received a first round bye in this year’s playoffs by being matched up with the Wild. The only reason the Wild made the playoffs was because they were the best of the worst. Losing five straight games to end the season and still being the eighth seed says a lot about the bottom teams in the Western Conference. Dallas lead the league in scoring this year and they will have no problem scoring against a very average Wild team. The Ten Thousand Lakes Times reported that Minnesota might actually just forfeit the round. Bold strategy; let’s see if it pays off for them.
Stars in 4.
#2 St. Louis Blues vs. #3 Chicago Blackhawks
This right here is some big boy hockey. Two Midwest clubs going at it in what looks to be the most exciting first round matchup. Both of these teams have four solid lines they can throw out at any point but the Blackhawks have the edge on experience. Two cups in three years say a lot about Chicago, as they know exactly what it takes to win a championship. Led by Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane, the Hawks have a dynamic offense that will be tough for the St. Louis blueliners to stop. Duncan Keith will not play in game one for the Blackhawks because he was suspended for thinking that Charlie Coyle’s face was a fastball inside, so the Blue’s must take advantage of his absence and set the tone for the rest of the series. Steen and Taresanko will be a lot for Chicago to handle but I just don’t see the Blackhawks losing in the first round.
Blackhawks in 7.
#1 Anaheim Ducks vs. #4 Nashville Predators
The Ducks come into the playoffs after winning their fourth consecutive Pacific Division championship, which virtually means nothing and hope to make a run at their second Stanley Cup trophy. The quack attack is 34-10-5 since the Christmas break, which would make you think that they put Gordon Bombay behind the bench in replace of Bruce Boudreau. The Predators though are also playing great hockey and have a favorable matchup against Anaheim. For the Predators, it comes down to Shea Webber and Roman Josi being able to stop the high-powered Duck offense. If they are able to frustrate the hotheaded Corey Perry then the Predators will take this series. History does repeat itself though and the last time the Ducks played a goaltender from Iceland, in the movie" D2: The Mighty Ducks," they came out victorious. Pekka Rinne is from Finland, but it’s close enough.
Ducks in 6.
