The 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway tomorrow, to continue a season unlike any other. The 2014 regular season was a popular one, a total of 21,758,902 fans filled NHL venues to 96% of capacity in 2013-14. Expect every game this postseason to be filled full.
Starting things off is the 1 Boston Bruins vs 4 Detroit Red Wings. This is the first postseason meeting of the ‘Original Six’ Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings since 1957. The Red Wings come in as a sneaky good 4 seed, and one certainly filled with enough talent for the upset.
Detroit will be all in with goaltender Jimmy Howard. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and the veterans will do their job, it will come down to the goalie matchup this series. The Bruins have one of the best this season, and possible Vezina Award winner this year, in Tuukka Rask. Rask had seven shutouts, and boasted an astounding .930 save percentage.
This is the sole reason I give Boston the advantage. This is no cakewalk 1-4 matchup.
Series Prediction: Bruins in 6
Up next, we have the 2-3 matchup, of Tampa Bay vs Montreal. Every stat this regular season is owned by the Lightning, except penalty kill percentage. Ben Bishop also dominates the goalie stats over Carey Price, though for some reason I like the Canadiens.
I don’t know what it is. The line of Desharnais, Pacioretty and Vanek will need to maintain the torrid pace it set during the 14 games together. Combine that with the fact that Bishop may miss a few games, and I don’t think Stamkos and Callahan, will have enough in the tank to take down Montreal.
First upset of one the Playoffs.
Series Prediction: Canadians in 5
This next one is a no brainer. 1 Pittsburgh Penguins vs 4 Columbus Blue Jackets. The only hope Columbus has is in goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to play lights out. He continues to be great when Columbus needs him to be, finishing with five shutouts and a .923 save percentage.
The Penguins have too much offense. They have the best player in the world, in Sidney Crosby, but also household names like Malkin, Kunitz, Neal, and Jokinen.
Didn’t even get to Marc-Andre Fleury yet. He’s playing some of the best hockey of his career this season. 39 wins, .915 save%, and a 2.37 Goal against average, are some of the best stats you’ll find in the league.
I’ll give Columbus a game at home, other than that, this series shouldn’t be too serious.
Series Prediction: Penguins in 5
The final matchup in the first round of the Eastern Conference is between 10-time playoff foes, the 3 Philadelphia Flyers and 2 New York Rangers, squaring off for the first time since the 1997 Eastern Conference Final.
In four regular-season games this season, the home team won each time. This trend should continue, as this series is basically a coin flip.
“We are due in Madison Square Garden,” Flyers forward Jakub Voracek said. “I don’t think we won there in three years. Since I’ve been here, we haven’t won there.”
If the rest of the Flyers come out with Voracek’s attitude, they may be able to steal one at MSG. This game is full of big names. The offenses are the deepest for both teams in recent memory. The Flyers have a 20-goal scorer on every line, while the Rangers aren’t gun shy.
Rick Nash, St. Louis and company will have no problem finding the back of the net this series.
Between the Pipes it’ll be Steve Mason against Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist is playing at the peak of his career, boasting 33 wins, .920 save percentage, and a 2.36 GAA.
The Flyers have to win every game at the Wells Fargo Center, if they want to have a chance.
Series Prediction: Rangers in 7
photo credit: nhl tumblr