2010 NHL Playoff Predictions

Eastern Conference-

1. Washington Capitals
8. Montreal Canadians

The Washington Capitals won the Presidents trophy this year for one reason, OFFENSE!! Obviously the first person you think of when it comes to the Capitals is Alex Ovechkin, the great 8, and rightfully so with 50 goals this year while missing ten games. But the Capitals can throw a lot of offensive talent to the opposing team besides OV. They have 100+ point scorer Nicklas Backstrom to go along with 40 goal scorer Alexander Semin not to mention lots of complimentary scorers like, Tomas Fleischmann, WHL product Eric Fehr, Seattle Thunderbirds product Brooks Laich, and an excellent pick up last summer with Mike Knuble, to go along with the NHL's top scoring defenseman Mike Green. The Capitals had 12 guys that scored more than 10 goals this year, so offense will not be the problem. Can they defend well enough though? The Capitals dont have a goalie, as a matter of fact they just announced today(Tuesday) who will be starting in goal to start the playoffs. Shouldn't it be a given who the goalie is on a team that hopes to contend for the Cup this year? Jose Theodore had a year and a half of brilliant goaltending in Montreal a few years back but has never lived up to the stud he was predicted to be after that year. Who wants a goalie going into that playoffs that has been a three teams in the last six years? Well thats what the Capitals have this year in Theodore. They have a lot of scoring though, will they be able to score enough to make up for a mediocre run-of-the-mill goaltender that they will take into the playoffs? Well see...

The Montreal Canadians on the other hand are not an exciting offensive team. They have a few guys that can score, like, Tomas Plekanic and his sweet turtle neck, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez(WHL product), and Michael Cammalleri, but all those guys are not nearly as flashy as some of the boys that the Caps can throw at you. The deciding factor in the Canadiens success will be the play of the goaltender, Jaroslov Halak. This guy took over (WHL product) Carey Price's job midway through the season, and has been stellar ever since, even starting for Team Slovakia in the Olympics. No playoff experience though for Halak, and I don't think hell be good enough to hold off the explosive Capitals.

PREDICTION- Canadian played well with what they had this year, but I just don't see this one being close. Even with the Capitals problems in goal, I dont see them losing to the Habs. Matter of fact they will roll em. Canadians take game 3 at home to keep everybody in Montreal interested and hopeful, but the Verizon Center will be rocking come playoff time, and the Capitals will play good enough in goal for now to not have a scare in this round. Capitals win the series 4-1, wrapping it up at Verizon.

2. New Jersey Devils
7. Philadelphia Flyers

The New Jersey Devils are in the playoffs for the 13th year in a row, but....YAWN....Ohh excuse me did I fall asleep? The Devils just bore me, they play great defense and have a great goalie in Marty Brodeur. And that is not very nice of me, they did try to fix this problem when the picked up Ilya Kovalchuk from the Thrashers before the trade deadline, and they do have some scorers like Parise, Zajac, and Elias. Overall though, they are just a grind it out defensive style hockey team that will win games 2-1. But that is what works in the playoffs most of the time, the Devils won the Cup in 2000 and 2003 with that same philosophy so it works. The Devils style will always make them a contender for the Cup.

The Philadelphia Flyers are an interesting story. After last years first round loss to the Penguins, they signed Ray Emery last summer to fix their goaltending problems only to have him get hurt half way through the year. The Flyers were stuck with their backup, Michael Leighton, who also got hurt awhile later. The Flyers are decimated between the pipes so they have to, or get to, turn to another WHL product, Brian Boucher. Brian Boucher started his NHL career with the Flyers back in the 99-00 season, and after playing for five other teams he is back with the Flyers for an unlikely playoff run. The Flyers barely snuck into the playoffs this year with a shootout win against the Rangers to earn their spot. In goal for that game was Brain Boucher who looked excited to prove the critics wrong when he stopped the final shooter to seal a birth. The Flyers compliment Boucher with a pretty good offensive and exciting team up front. Guys like Mike Richards, Danny Briere, Claude Giroux, and recently recovered Jeff Carter could make it tough on the Devils.

PREDICTION- The Devils always make it this far, and I think they may overlook the Flyers a bit, and not realize they are in a battle until its too late. Everybody talks about how bad Brian Boucher is but wait, doesnt he hold the record for longest shutout streak in the modern era for the NHL? Yes he does, it lasted 332:01 and spanned for five games back in his younger years with the Coyotes. I think Boucher has something to prove, and he knows that he can do that after winning the must win 82nd game of the season against the Rangers. If the Devils win, Brodeur is one of the greatest goalies ever, if the Devils lose he still is. I think I'm in the minority here, but I like the Flyers in this one. These two teams played six times in the regular season, being in the same division, and the Flyers won five of those games. The Devils are too used to being here, and the Flyers are elated not to have to play their big brothers from across their state in Pittsburgh. Call me crazy, but I'll take the Flyers in 6 games, clinching it at home in front of a wild Wachovia Center crowd.

3. Buffalo Sabres
6. Boston Bruins

When you think Buffalo Sabres, you think one player, Ryan Miller. After leading The United States to the Gold Medal game in Vancouver, he will try to put his Buffalo Sabres on his back too, and lead them deep into the playoffs. Ryan Miller is second in both Goals against average(GAA)and Save Percentage (SV%)at 2.22 and .929 respectively. He will need to keep that up to beat Boston and ultimately make a deep run into the playoffs. The Sabres can also score some goals though with 20+ goal scorers like Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, and german born Jochen Hecht to go along with a set up man Tim Connolly. The Sabres hope that Raffi Torres can pitch in for their playoff run, as he has done next to nothing since being acquired from Columbus late in the year. If rookie defenseman, 6'8" Tyler Myers can perform as he did in the regular season in his first playoffs then the Sabres will have a great shot to move on.

The Boston Bruins are ranked near the bottom in the league in every offensive category. The loss of Marc Savard to a concussion a month ago won't help at all, as he was their best set up man. The Boston Bruins had one, that's right one, 20 goal scorer this year in Marco Sturm who had a blazing 22 to go along with only 15 assists in 76 games. Frankly, its hard to imagine that they have made it this far with their anemic scoring, but they did. Whats the old cliche? Offense wins games but Defense wins championships right? Well the Bruins can play Defense. Remember when I said that Ryan Miller is second in GAA and SV%, and guesses as to who is first? Not a lot of people would know that the league leader in GAA and SV% is Tuukka Rask with 1.97 and .931 number respectively. Aside from having maybe one of the best first names in hockey in Tuukka, he also has zero experience come playoff time. He had great numbers in the regualr season but whether that adds up to playoff success remains to be seen.

PREDICTION- Everybody is picking the Sabres in this one in a rout, but not so fast. Tuukka, Tuukka, Tuukka(I love saying that name) Rask can is athletic between the pipes for the B's. Against any of the other top seeds I might have predicted the upset, but not against Ryan Miller. I dont see this one being a sweep as some do, because this series will be low scoring and tight which means any team can win on any given night. All things being equal in net, which I'm not sure that they are because of Tuukka, Tuukka, Tuukka's lack of playoff experience, I still like the Sabres offense much better. I'll take the Sabres to close it out in 6 games at the TD Garden in Boston.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Ottawa Senators

What can you say about the Pens, they have some of the best offensive players in the league with Sid and Malkin to go along with veteran leadership in Billy Guerin-tee, and Sergei Gonchar, not to mention great role players like Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy. Sounds like a winning combination huh? Well not so fast. After getting over that hump winning the Cup last year, people expected them to come in and dominate the East this year. That hasn't happened yet, the Pens went 0-6 against the Devils this year, and it cost them the division. But that didn't seem to bother them last year when they won the Cup from the exact same position in the East, the 4 seed. With the talent that the Penguins have up front, as long as Marc-Andre Fluery steps it up come playoff time as he did last year, they will always have a chance.

Ohh yah, the Ottawa Senators are playing in this series too, I forgot. The Senators are maybe the most underrated 5 seed to ever play in the playoffs. All people are talking about is the Penguins, and that this series will be a formality. Not if Ottawa has anything to say about it. The Senators have a pretty good offensive team with guys like Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and (recently engaged to one of the most attractive women in the world, Carrie Underwood) Mike Fisher. To have a chance in this series these three guys will have to do just that, score. After signing Pascal Leclaire to tend the pipes in Ottawa, another injury plagued year slowed him down, but not to worry Ottawa fans, Brian Elliott to the rescue. Elliott stepped in nicely midway through the season and ended up with pretty good numbers that give fans in Ottawa a reason to believe. And believe they will if the Sens can get a split in Pittsburgh. Don,t sleep on Elliott and the rest of the Sens, as they can be a problem for anybody in the league.

PREDICTION- Two years ago, the Senators got swept by the Pens in the first round, but I got this feeling that won't happen this time around. The Penguins expect to be here, and they are going to overlook the Sens. I think that if the Senators can go in to Pittsburgh and split the first two games, that will do wonders for their confidence. If that happens, and I think it will, the Senators will come back home to one of the best home records in the league this year and be energetic and ready to play for their fans. I dont know if its because I'm cheering for them or what, but I feel like a shocker is going to happen here. If it goes 7 games, the Penguins will win at home. I'm predicting an upset though, the Senators will win in 6 games in front of a rowdy crowd at Scotiabank.


There you have it. My first round predictions in the Eastern Conference are:
1. Washington Capitals
3. Buffalo Sabres
5. Ottawa Senators
7. Philadelphia Flyers