sm623181

PA • United States • 25 Years Old • Female

Round 2 Predictions

First of all, Let me just say how disappointed in the lack of orginality in these picks :

http://sports.espn.go.com...008/news/story?id=3364125

...picking the higher seated team across the board...perhaps consider the how each team is playing and then decide... Here it goes:


East:

Rangers vs. Penguins - This should be quite an exciting series. With the much hyped Crosby who apears to finally be over his high ankle sprain. He looked pretty good in the first round, but there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to shut him down. (Take a page from the Flyers book and watch the covereage they had on AO.) Malkin should also be a target for serious covereage. He is a fantastic player, and his sense of where a play is going is waaay beyond his years.

Overall both teams made fairly short work of their first round opponents and have had a decent break. Is that a pro or con? I guess we'll see.

Things to watch for...

Goaltending. Fleury has been oustanding since his return and I'm sure he will stay that way. On the other end you have Lundqvist who is up for the Vezina Trophy. He has just been unbelievable for the Rangers all season and he is overall more experienced than Fleury. Goaltending will be HUGE in this series with players like Crosby and Malkin, as well as NHL veteran Jaromir Jagr.

Penalties. If you mess with Crosby you will get a penalty. If you donj't believe me..just watch. You will probably also recieve cheap shots from players like Laraque and Rutuu. Sean Avery - prepare for some SERIOUS penalty minutes. I hope that I will be wrong about the officiating but I doubt it.

Rangers in 6.



Canadiens vs. Flyers - Oh the humanity of the Flyers ragular series against the Habs. That was rough stuff. But the Flyers have to just shake off the memory of the regular season and see that this is a new game and Montreal can be beaten (*see series w/ 8th place Bruins). The Habs looked good for most of the first round but seemed to get tired and let up toward the end of the series. They have to keep their energy up. Briere needs to keep playing at the level he has been (despite a chorus of boos from the crowd). Both teams over all have very balanced attack. Both teams are tired after 7 game series. It will be a battle of heart more than anything else. Who has the drive to win?

Things to watch for...

Power Play/PK...you're talking the number 1 and 2 regular season power plays. The Flyers need to stay out of the box, something they've sturggled with all year. Both Pks better be up for the task.

Goaltending...Biron vs. Price...both goalies have overall been fantastic for their teams. Both had a bit of inconsistency in the middle of their series but overcame it. Both are new to playoff hockey. Who ever can stay more composed will pull their team through.

Home Ice...you can say what you want about home ice advantage but you would be hard pressed to find a rowdier fanbase matchup. The rioting habs fans vs. the "Orange Crush". It will be interesting to see how the teams draw energy from their fans.


Flyers in 6.


West:

Red Wings vs. Avalanche - What a series this is be. I'm very excited. Jos Sakic is one of my longtime favorite players and he has been a huge boost to his team through the playoffs thus far. Both of these teams are relativley older than many of the other teams in the playoffs. Is this a good thing? I'm not sure. I have to watch the first game. MIke Babcock is no stranger to successful playoffs runs but I just don't know that his team can pull it off this year. Watching the Series against the Predators, I couldn't help but see that it should have been over before 7 games. The Avs/Wild series was much closer and there was more consistency in the Avs' game overall than the red wings'. It's a toss up.


Things to watch for...

Goaltending.. Osgood gets the nod to start off but can really bounce back and forth between goalies all through the playoffs? It has the potential of bacKfiring. At this point the Wings are safer going with Osgood after Hasek's performance last round. One the other end Theordore has been playing hard and has been fairly consistent all year. He really steped up when the Avs needed him to.

2001 champs...again? I'm not sure what it's all about but maybe the Avs are channeling their past with last minute trade deadline acquisitions. Forsberg has done well so far as has Foote. I thought this was truely a fascinating idea...to bring back the old team years later.


Avs in 5.



Sharks vs. Stars - The Stars turned up the heat on the reigning champs and sent them home before the Duck's appeared to even know what hit them. Outstanding play all around for them and Turco was brilliant. The Sharks are another story. What were you guys doing going to game 7? You let Iginla drag you all the way there and then you ended it. Nabakov kept you in the series. Good work by JR to clsoe things out in the end but I hope this will be a wake up call. Sharks, you can't take a game or two off..the Stars will pounce. If you wake up this will be a good series.


Things to watch for...

The Vets...players like JR, Modano, and Thorton...step up and lead by example. It's what's expected of you. Do what you have to do to inspire your team and give them momentum.

Nabakov...like a shark he will devour any puck that comes near him. Don't expect rebounds. You will have to work a screen and shoot from the point. Dallas must find a weak spot or hit the golf course early.


Sharks in 7.






* That's all for now. We'll see how the first two games go tonight. GO FLYERS!!!!