NHL Second Round Preview

The first round of the playoffs brought us little surprises, with the exception of Nashville’s complete collapse against San Jose. The Rangers took care of business against the Thrashers, while another season ends in the first round for Marty Turco and the Dallas Stars. The Ducks took care of the Wild in five games, while the Sabres had no problems with the Islanders. The Flames showed some heart, but it was not enough against the talented Wings, and Martian Broudeur is already heading for his second Con Smythe with his dominating performance over the Lightning.So, we head to the second round. In the west, the Anaheim Ducks will get a chance to take on the Vancouver Canucks, while the Detroit Red Wings will host the San Jose Sharks. Meanwhile, the East finishes up the LaFontaine Cup, as the New York Rangers head upstate to take on the Buffalo Sabres, and the New Jersey Devils host the Ottawa Senators.

Since we started in the East last round, we’ll take care of the West this time around.

1)Detroit Red Wings vs. 5) San Jose Sharks

Why Detroit will win

The Dominator came back for one reason, winning the Stanley Cup. Their defense took the pain to the Flames in the first round, while limiting the chances snipers like Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay had on Domink Hasek. Another benefit of their physical play has been the fact that Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk were able to step up their offensive prowess. Todd Bertuzzi has found his power forward style that brought him success in Vancouver again; they are loaded on both sides. The biggest key to a Wings victory will be to keep their temper under control, while not giving up the physical play.

Why San Jose will win

The Sharks kept Nashville’s temper out of control in the first round. Thus making it one of the more physical series of the first round. As the old saying goes, a team willing to fight together sticks together. Joe Thorton decided this was going to be the playoffs where he shows up, and how has he?  Six assists in the first round. Milan Michalek, Ryan Clowe and Jonathan Cheechoo were the offensive MVPs for the Sharks lighting the lamp several times. Meanwhile, their defense also chipped in, with Craig Rivet putting the puck in the net from the blue line. Matt Carle, Christian Ehrhoff, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Scott Hannan and Kyle McLaren helped anchor a good defense in the first round, a defense that held Nashville to under twenty-five shots in four of the five games. The biggest key to the Sharks upsetting the Wings is the fact that Evgeni Nabokov cannot have the start to this series as he did against Nashville.

Who wins

This might be the best of the four match ups in the second round, but in the end, there’s something about San Jose. Look for the Sharks to win in six games.

2)Anaheim Ducks vs. 3) Vancouver Canucks

Why Anaheim will win

Sound defensive hockey was the key to the Ducks taking out the Wild. Sure, Minnesota doesn’t exactly have the offense of the 1982 Oilers, but it was better then most in years past. Playing sound defense isn’t that hard when you have two of the best in the game manning your blue line. Prongs also lead the team with six points in their first round romp, but the rest of the blue liners weren’t exactly just stopping pucks. Francois Beauchemin and Scott Niedermayer both had three points in the series. Samuel Pahlsson, Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer, also known as the Ducks’ grind line, frustrated the Wild, especially on the penalty kill. Anaheim held Minnesota to just two-for-twenty-seven. The two-headed monster of Ilya Bryzgalov and Jean Sebastien Giguere were brick walls. Giguere was out for the final three games due to the birth of his son, but should be back in net full time for this series. The key for Anaheim is the play of top snipers Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry and Andy McDonald, they have to step up their game especially against Roberto Lunongo.

Why Vancouver will win

When you talk about the Canucks in round one, there’s only one name needed to be brought up. Roberto Lunongo. If it wasn’t for him, Vancouver could have just gone straight to the golf course. Speaking of which, if anyone has seen Vancouver’s offense, please alert the Canucks. One has to wonder if they Canucks have anything left after seven games of “top that” between Lunongo and Turco. It doesn’t take brain science or rocket surgery to figure out what Vancouver needs to do to win. They need to score.

Who will win

This one is a no-brainer. I’m not holding my breath on Vancouver’s offense. Look for a Ducks sweep.

With the West over, let’s check out the east.

1)Buffalo Sabres vs. 6) New York Rangers

Why Buffalo will win

The Sabres are loaded. Plus, they showed the heart of a Stanley Cup Champion with three one-goal victories, which looked a lot better on the stat sheet. Dainius Zubrus, Chris Drury, Brian Campbell and Daniel Briere all had five points, while even the blue line had a scoring party as they scored four of the first six goals of the series. The speed of the Sabres made some games look like the Harlem Globetrotters taking on the Washington Generals. It didn’t hurt that Ryan Miller looked like a Veznia candidate in the first round either. The key to the Sabres moving on to the East finals is not becoming complacent, and keeping their foot on the gas.

Why the Rangers will win

To be fair to the Atlanta Thrashers, the Rangers slept through the first round. While no one had the number sixty-six on the Rangers, Jaromir Jagr looked like his old self in Pittsburgh. Things went so well for New York, even Michael Nylander got the Rangers fans throwing their hats in game three. Brendan Shanahan looked in his prime again. Fedor Tyutin, notched five assists, while Michal Rozsival and Thomas Pock each chipped in three. King Henrik looked ever bit of his Olympic part, turning into a brick wall and frustrating the Thrashers every chance he got.  The key for the Rangers in the second round is to keep up their torrid pace. They will be the most rested team coming into round two, but everyone will have to elevate their “A” game if the Rangers stand a good chance in this one.

Who will win

While it won’t be the 4-0 sweep the Sabres had in the regular season, they should take care of the Rangers in six games.

2)New Jersey Devils vs. 4) Ottawa Senators

Why the Devils will win

Just like the Vancouver Canucks, there’s one man to give most of the credit to in round one. Martian Broudeur. Unlike the Canucks, the Devils actually have some offense. Unsung hero Zach Parise lit the lamp six times in the series, while Jamie Langenbrunner, Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta scored some key power play goals. John Madden and Jay Pandolfo played some major defense in the first round as well. The key to the Devils moving on to the finals, they have to keep up the scoring pressure, and Marty has to be on the top of his game. Ottawa has more scoring power then Tampa, so he cannot blow two-goal leads like he did in two games.

Why the Senators will win

While it meant the end of Sidney Crosby’s first playoff run, no one was really shocked that the Ottawa Senators had ease in dispatching the Pittsburgh Penguins. No one was shocked that Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza had scoring parties. However, people were pleasantly surprised by the likes of Dean McAmmond, Peter Schaefer and Chris Kelly, who all played great two-way games against the Pens. Blue liners Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov had a field day with Crosby and company. Ray Emery looked about as good as you can get. His confidence seems to rise every save he makes. The key for Ottawa is the same as the Sabres, complacency is their worst enemy. They will need some good performances against Broudeur to move on.

Who will win

Ottawa is just the better team, plain and simple. Expect Broudeur to steal a couple of games, but if New Jersey’s offense isn’t up to the task of Ray Emery, this one may be a slaughter. Look for Ottawa to take this in six games.

There you have it. If everything goes to snuff, expect San Jose and Anaheim to meet in the west finals, while the inevitable clash of Ottawa and Buffalo will happen in the east.