The NHL playoffs are back tonight, the home town team didn’t make it and honestly I don’t want to hear the word Bruins until at-least August. That being said there is still some great hockey to be played. Yesterday my buddy Tom gave you a preview of the west. So now it is time for the Eastern Conference preview. 4 great series that will have you on the edge of your seat the whole time.
First up we have Montreal (A1) vs. Ottawa (W1)
Tonight 7 pm est NHL Network
Ottawa had a strong finish to the regular season to propel them into the playoffs and lock up the Atlantic Division’s last playoff spot. The Sens added a lot of fire power this offseason and have seen a lot of improvement. That being said Carey Price is on fire. He can’t be stopped. As people from Boston know P.K Subban is an unstoppable force in the playoffs and will score goals on you draw penalties and basically change the game in the Habs favor. Don’t forget The Bell Centre in Montreal is one of the toughest places to play in the NHL and the Habs take full advantage of that
Prediction: Montreal in 5
Next up is the New York Islanders (M3) vs the Washington Capitals (M2)
Tonight 7 pm est USA network
One of the more interesting match ups from the East two of the leagues leading scorers going at in Washington’s Alex Ovechkin coming off his 6th 50 goal season Alex Ovechkin has still yet to prove himself in the playoffs. One of the leagues purest scorers has never even made it to the Eastern Conference finals. Ovechkin is starting to take a lot of criticism, he is going to need to prove himself this year. On the other end of this series the New York Islanders have been on fire this season lead by there young captain John Tavares who was in the race for leading point scorers. The islanders are a very young team made up of the likes of Kyle Okposo, Johnny Boychuck and some excellent goaltending from Jaroslav Halak. The Isles want to make a run in their last year at Nasseau Collesium. I think this series will be very entertaining. The goalies are going to be key in this one Holtby is almost unstoppable in the playoffs. We still have to wait to see how Halak performs for the Isles after a phenomenal regular season.
Prediction: Capitals in 7
The Next series I’m going to preview is the New York Rangers (M1) vs the Pittsburgh Penguins (W2)
Thursday April 16th 7pm est NBSCN
Both of these teams have been in the playoffs in the near past but one of them is not the same team. The Penguins may look the same have the same players but the Penguins hit a road block at the end of the season and tanked to just barely holding a playoff spot. Sidney Crosby and Malkin are going to have to step up if they want to make a run. Another big question in Pittsburgh is how will Marc Andre Fleury perform? The Penguins have a tough test going into Madison Square Garden and playing The President Trophy winning Rangers. They are looking to make another run for the cup but I don’t see that happening the Rangers are a good team and will beat the Penguins but I don’t see them doing much more than that. The blue shirts are going to have to depend on Martin St. Louis and Henrik Lundqvist who have both proved themselves in this league. On a side note Rick Nash sat out of practice for the Rangers today. He reportedly has the flu. He will be another key factor as this series starts.
Prediction: Rangers in 5
Last series in the east is the Tampa Bay Lightning (A2) vs the Detroit Red Wings (A3)
Thursday April 16th 7:30pm est CNBC
The Tampa Bay lightning have been a quiet team since they lost to the Bruins in the 2011 eastern conference finals and many questions arose this year asking if the Lightning are back. The Lightning are playing well and do have a good shot to make a run in the playoffs. Stamkos up front with Brian Boyle and Ben Bishop on the back end may seem like an unstoppable force. We are going to have to wait and see how they hold up. On the other side of the ice Petr Mrazk gets the start in net for the very familiar Red Wings who have made the playoffs every year for the past 20 years or something crazy like that Datsyuk and Zetterberg? They may have not done to well towards the end of the season but the playoff experience of the Red Wings will outweigh the Lightning’s skill 9 times out of 10
Prediction: Wings in 7
Eastern Conference Finals Prediction:
Washington vs Montreal
Washington in 6 games
Buzz ECF Predictions
Tock: Rangers vs. Lightning (Rangers in 6)
Westy: Lightning vs. Islanders (Islanders in 7)
Tom: Rangers vs Tampa (Rangers in 7)
Nick: Detroit vs Washington (Detroit in 6)
PS- Might as well throw my cup prediction in here
Washington vs Anaheim (Washington in 7)
The Beantown Buzz 