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CanuckJohnny · 07-09-2022, 01:24 PM

Recapping the rest of Round 2

Philadelphia closed out their series with Toronto at home in the sixth game, starting strong with two first period goals and lots of pressure. The continued to control the play in the second, and added an early period goal from Scott Hartnell, but Nazem Kadri answered to pull the Leafs to within two. In the third the Leafs really poured it on, pumping fifteen shots on Bobrovsky in the effort to keep their playoff run alive, but Goalie Bob held firm and Tom Sestito added an insurance marker as Philly moved into the Conference final with a 4-1 result. Claude Giroux sustained a minor lower body injury and is listed as day to day. The Flyers hope he can recover quickly and be ready to go for game 1 of the third round, but it's doubtful.

Final results of Round 2

Detroit 1 @ Chicago 4
Dallas 1 @ Vancouver 4
Montreal 0 @ Pittsburgh 4
Philadelphia 4 @ Toronto 2

Scoring Leaders
Claude Giroux, PHI 11-8-19 in 13gp
Jakub Voracek, PHI 4-11-15 in 13gp
James van Riemsdyk, PHI 3-11-14 in 13gp
Nazem Kadri, TOR 8-5-13 in 12gp
Kimmo Timonen, PHI 3-10-13 in 13gp
Michael Frolik, CHI 3-9-12 in 9gp
Phil Kessel, TOR 3-9-12 in 12gp
Gustav Nyquist, DET 6-5-11 in 11gp
Pavel Datsyuk, DET 5-6-11 in 11gp
Henrik Zetterberg, DET 4-6-10 in 11gp
Jonathan Toews, CHI 3-7-10 in 9gp
Scott Hartnell, PHI 6-3-9 in 12gp
James Neal, PIT 5-4-9 in 9gp
Nikolai Kulemin, TOR 3-6-9 in 12gp
Sidney Crosby, PIT 1-8-9 in 9gp
Kyle Turris, PHX 5-3-8 in 6gp
Kris Letang, PIT 4-4-8 in 9gp
Ryan Kesler, VAN 3-5-8 in 9gp
Jonathan Marchessault, VAN 2-6-8 in 9gp
Nick Leddy, CHI 1-7-8 in 9gp

Goalie Leaders
Jacob Markstrom, VAN 0.67gaa .965sv% 4so
Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT 0.98gaa .958sv% 3so
Jimmy Howard, DET 2.13gaa .929sv% 2so
Carey Price, MTL 2.55gaa .924sv% 2so
Corey Crawford, CHI 2.08gaa .922sv%
Kari Lehtonen, DAL 2.39gaa .921sv% 2so

Conference Final Matchups

#4 Philadelphia (51-25-6) @ #1 Pittsburgh (65-13-4)
A huge rivalry series in the battle of Pennsylvania, these teams are not as far apart as the standings make it seem, since Philadelphia is only ranked fourth in the conference due to the top divisional seeds getting spots 1-3. Philadelphia had the second best record in the east after Pittsburgh. Both of these teams were top five in the league in GA and shots. Pittsburgh led the league in goals by a significant margin however, while Philadelphia struggled with finishing and was middle of the pack in goals in spite of creating many more chances than average. Pittsburgh was near the top of the league in special teams with the second best powerplay (22.7%) and sixth best penalty kill (85.4%), while Philadelphia was 13th in both categories (17.0% and 84.4%). Claude Giroux is listed as day to day right now, and a big storyline will be his readiness to play, and when he does, if the playoffs leading scorer will really be at 100%. The Flyers top line of van Riemsdyk, Giroux, and Voracek has been absolutely electric thus far, but how will they fare (provided Giroux is able to go) against Vezina candidate Marc-Andre Fleury? It's going to be an unstoppable force meets an immovable object kind of matchup with the high octane offense of Philadelphia this playoffs running into a goalie who has surrendered less than a goal a game so far in the postseason. Then there's the matchup of two of the best offensive defensemen in the league, with Flyers captain Kimmo Timonen on one side and recently extended Kris Letang on the other. Which of them wins this matchup and controls play and creates offence at a higher rate may well determine the series. Pittsburgh has seen their big guns struggle early in the playoffs, but James Neal and Sidney Crosby are starting to find their legs. Evgeni Malkin needs to find another gear for them, and the regular season leading scorer was starting to face a lot of questions about his lack of production this playoffs until he stepped up in the last couple games against Montreal. Two goals and five assists in nine games is at least respectable, but can he find the dominance he had offensively in the regular season? The Flyers have been proving all playoffs it's a poor choice to bet against them, coming through two long series in a row. Claude Giroux has scored more goals this playoffs than Marc-Andre Fleury has allowed. Something has to give here. And although the Flyers have showns good scoring depth and leadership, with Giroux starting the series as doubtful, the Penguins are just simply too good this year. Philly should at least make it interesting though. Penguins in seven.

#2 Vancouver (55-21-6) @ #1 Chicago (58-19-5)
Another great rivalry matchup over in the West. These teams have met for some memorable series in recent history, and both have defeated the other en route to the finals, but this is the first time they will meet in the conference finals. four games away from the Stanley Cup final. These two teams were neck and neck all regular season, with the Blackhawks ultimately winning the conference and thus home ice for this series. Neither team has really faced a challenge yet, with both teams losing only one game in the first two rounds. When it comes to injuries, the Hawks are healthy, while the Canucks are missing depth pieces David Rundblad and Jori Lehtera for the rest of the playoffs. The Canucks second line has emerged as the real driver for them offensively, and the Sedins have taken a back seat, but will they step up and provide an actual two line punch for Vancouver this playoffs? On the back end, Nick Leddy has been productive for the Blackhawks with 8 points in 9 games so far, but Vancouver is the only team left without a defenseman in the top twenty in playoff scoring. They've been getting it done, as they have all year, with depth, but will someone step up and stand out offensively in this series from their blueline? They acquired P.K. Subban to be that offensive punch but he has been only above average when it comes to production, although his two way game has been perhaps better than advertised. Kyle Cumiskey has 4 points in 5 games since coming in for the injured David Rundblad, perhaps he could be an unlikely hero? Jacob Markstrom has been lights out - will the Blackhawks be the team to finally crack him? Or is he the real deal? Patrick Kane is back from injury - he had 51 goals and 97 points in the regular season, good for second and third in the league, respectively, but was hurt in the final game of the year and only just returned to the lineup for the last two games against Detroit - where he proceeded to score three goals and two assists - look out Markstrom. One of these teams is going to face real adversity for the first time this postseason, how will they respond? Is Chicago with a freshly recovered Patrick Kane simply going to be too much to handle for Jacob Markstrom and his team? Blackhawks in 7.

07-09-2022, 01:24 PM	#161
CanuckJohnny All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2022 Posts: 554	Recapping the rest of Round 2 Philadelphia closed out their series with Toronto at home in the sixth game, starting strong with two first period goals and lots of pressure. The continued to control the play in the second, and added an early period goal from Scott Hartnell, but Nazem Kadri answered to pull the Leafs to within two. In the third the Leafs really poured it on, pumping fifteen shots on Bobrovsky in the effort to keep their playoff run alive, but Goalie Bob held firm and Tom Sestito added an insurance marker as Philly moved into the Conference final with a 4-1 result. Claude Giroux sustained a minor lower body injury and is listed as day to day. The Flyers hope he can recover quickly and be ready to go for game 1 of the third round, but it's doubtful. Final results of Round 2 Detroit 1 @ Chicago 4 Dallas 1 @ Vancouver 4 Montreal 0 @ Pittsburgh 4 Philadelphia 4 @ Toronto 2 Scoring Leaders Claude Giroux, PHI 11-8-19 in 13gp Jakub Voracek, PHI 4-11-15 in 13gp James van Riemsdyk, PHI 3-11-14 in 13gp Nazem Kadri, TOR 8-5-13 in 12gp Kimmo Timonen, PHI 3-10-13 in 13gp Michael Frolik, CHI 3-9-12 in 9gp Phil Kessel, TOR 3-9-12 in 12gp Gustav Nyquist, DET 6-5-11 in 11gp Pavel Datsyuk, DET 5-6-11 in 11gp Henrik Zetterberg, DET 4-6-10 in 11gp Jonathan Toews, CHI 3-7-10 in 9gp Scott Hartnell, PHI 6-3-9 in 12gp James Neal, PIT 5-4-9 in 9gp Nikolai Kulemin, TOR 3-6-9 in 12gp Sidney Crosby, PIT 1-8-9 in 9gp Kyle Turris, PHX 5-3-8 in 6gp Kris Letang, PIT 4-4-8 in 9gp Ryan Kesler, VAN 3-5-8 in 9gp Jonathan Marchessault, VAN 2-6-8 in 9gp Nick Leddy, CHI 1-7-8 in 9gp Goalie Leaders Jacob Markstrom, VAN 0.67gaa .965sv% 4so Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT 0.98gaa .958sv% 3so Jimmy Howard, DET 2.13gaa .929sv% 2so Carey Price, MTL 2.55gaa .924sv% 2so Corey Crawford, CHI 2.08gaa .922sv% Kari Lehtonen, DAL 2.39gaa .921sv% 2so Conference Final Matchups #4 Philadelphia (51-25-6) @ #1 Pittsburgh (65-13-4) A huge rivalry series in the battle of Pennsylvania, these teams are not as far apart as the standings make it seem, since Philadelphia is only ranked fourth in the conference due to the top divisional seeds getting spots 1-3. Philadelphia had the second best record in the east after Pittsburgh. Both of these teams were top five in the league in GA and shots. Pittsburgh led the league in goals by a significant margin however, while Philadelphia struggled with finishing and was middle of the pack in goals in spite of creating many more chances than average. Pittsburgh was near the top of the league in special teams with the second best powerplay (22.7%) and sixth best penalty kill (85.4%), while Philadelphia was 13th in both categories (17.0% and 84.4%). Claude Giroux is listed as day to day right now, and a big storyline will be his readiness to play, and when he does, if the playoffs leading scorer will really be at 100%. The Flyers top line of van Riemsdyk, Giroux, and Voracek has been absolutely electric thus far, but how will they fare (provided Giroux is able to go) against Vezina candidate Marc-Andre Fleury? It's going to be an unstoppable force meets an immovable object kind of matchup with the high octane offense of Philadelphia this playoffs running into a goalie who has surrendered less than a goal a game so far in the postseason. Then there's the matchup of two of the best offensive defensemen in the league, with Flyers captain Kimmo Timonen on one side and recently extended Kris Letang on the other. Which of them wins this matchup and controls play and creates offence at a higher rate may well determine the series. Pittsburgh has seen their big guns struggle early in the playoffs, but James Neal and Sidney Crosby are starting to find their legs. Evgeni Malkin needs to find another gear for them, and the regular season leading scorer was starting to face a lot of questions about his lack of production this playoffs until he stepped up in the last couple games against Montreal. Two goals and five assists in nine games is at least respectable, but can he find the dominance he had offensively in the regular season? The Flyers have been proving all playoffs it's a poor choice to bet against them, coming through two long series in a row. Claude Giroux has scored more goals this playoffs than Marc-Andre Fleury has allowed. Something has to give here. And although the Flyers have showns good scoring depth and leadership, with Giroux starting the series as doubtful, the Penguins are just simply too good this year. Philly should at least make it interesting though. Penguins in seven. #2 Vancouver (55-21-6) @ #1 Chicago (58-19-5) Another great rivalry matchup over in the West. These teams have met for some memorable series in recent history, and both have defeated the other en route to the finals, but this is the first time they will meet in the conference finals. four games away from the Stanley Cup final. These two teams were neck and neck all regular season, with the Blackhawks ultimately winning the conference and thus home ice for this series. Neither team has really faced a challenge yet, with both teams losing only one game in the first two rounds. When it comes to injuries, the Hawks are healthy, while the Canucks are missing depth pieces David Rundblad and Jori Lehtera for the rest of the playoffs. The Canucks second line has emerged as the real driver for them offensively, and the Sedins have taken a back seat, but will they step up and provide an actual two line punch for Vancouver this playoffs? On the back end, Nick Leddy has been productive for the Blackhawks with 8 points in 9 games so far, but Vancouver is the only team left without a defenseman in the top twenty in playoff scoring. They've been getting it done, as they have all year, with depth, but will someone step up and stand out offensively in this series from their blueline? They acquired P.K. Subban to be that offensive punch but he has been only above average when it comes to production, although his two way game has been perhaps better than advertised. Kyle Cumiskey has 4 points in 5 games since coming in for the injured David Rundblad, perhaps he could be an unlikely hero? Jacob Markstrom has been lights out - will the Blackhawks be the team to finally crack him? Or is he the real deal? Patrick Kane is back from injury - he had 51 goals and 97 points in the regular season, good for second and third in the league, respectively, but was hurt in the final game of the year and only just returned to the lineup for the last two games against Detroit - where he proceeded to score three goals and two assists - look out Markstrom. One of these teams is going to face real adversity for the first time this postseason, how will they respond? Is Chicago with a freshly recovered Patrick Kane simply going to be too much to handle for Jacob Markstrom and his team? Blackhawks in 7.