[CanuckJohnny]

2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Round 2 Preview

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(4) Vancouver Canucks @ (1) St. Louis Blues
Blues:Led the Western Conference after an especially strong second half. Chris Stewart led them in goals with 29, Andy McDonald led them in points with 66. T.J. Oshie missed a large portion of the season from injury, but in 34 regular season games he scored 23 goals and 40 points. They are led on the blueline by Alex Pietrangelo, and Jaroslav Halak holds the fort in net. A deep and balanced team, led by captain David Backes, they run three capable scoring lines, with Perron-Backes Oshie, Schwartz-Sobotka-Stewart and Berglund-McDonald-Reaves. Shattenkirk has 3 goals and 3 assists in six playoff games from the back end, he's tied with Oshie and Berglund for the team lead in points through one series. They faced a bit of a scare from a stronger than expected Nashville squad but in the end they asserted their dominance and made it to the second round in six games. Halak has a .939 save percentage and one shutout through one round. Depth forward Evan Brophey is the only injury currently, day to day with an upper body injury.
Canucks: After a great start, they stumbled down the stretch into the playoffs, finishing fourth in the conference. Jon Marchessault led the team in goals with 25, while captain Henrik Sedin led them in points with 60. Jacob Markstrom had 8 shutouts and a .920 save percentage in 58 games, winning 36. Henrik leads them in playoff points, with 8 in 7 games. Young defenseman Jake Muzzin leads the defense in scoring with five points. Jon Marchessault leads them with four goals. Markstrom has struggled compared to his usual form, with a save percentage of .906 and a GAA of 2.19. They are missing heart and soul forward Alex Burrows for another month or two and the blueline is banged up, with Ryan Ellis still out but progressing in his recovery from an upper body injury that kept him out of round one, star defenseman P.K. Subban is still day to day in spite of playing and performing well in game 7 of the first round, and Dan Hamhuis is also currently day to day. They struggled to start their series with the Avalanche, going down 3-1 before stringing together 3 straight wins to move on.
Prediction: Blues in five. A Vancouver squad that barely squeaked past a Colorado team running with its backup goalie just doesn't have the depth to compete.

(3) Chicago Blackhawks @ (2) Los Angeles Kings
Kings: The Pacific Division champs after a strong push at the end of the year, the Kings had the fourth best penalty kill in the league this year. Rookie Tyler Toffoli led them in goals with 29. Anze Kopitar's 79 points led the team by a wide margin. Jonathan Bernier stole the crease from incumbent Jonathan Quick over the course of the year, finishing with seven shutouts and 35 wins. Star defenseman Drew Doughty had 57 points from the blueline and is one of the top young defenders in the league. Captain Dustin Brown has raised his game in the postseason, producing four goals and eight points to tie for the team lead in points with Kopitar through seven games. Bernier has struggled a bit compared to his regular season numbers, posting only a .910 save percentage, but so far they have stuck with him in spite of Quick waiting on the sidelines. After Dallas put them on the ropes, they came through with a couple big wins to get into the second round. Their only injury currently is veteran Vinny Prospal being day to day after sustaining an upper body injury in their series with Dallas.
Blackhawks: In spite of a difficult, injury plagued season that saw Patrick Kane go down in December for the season (39 points in 38 games up to then) as well as captain Jonathan Toews missing a significant chunk of time. In their absence sophomore Kevin Hayes had a monster season, leading the team in goals (29) and points (63), while Duncan Keith contributed 53 points on defense. The Hawks finished top ten in the league in goals, goals against, powerplay and penalty kill. Corey Crawford had eight shutouts and 44 wins. Jonathan Toews has finally returned to the lineup and they hope to see Patrick Kane return at some point this series. Pirri leads them in playoff points with six in six games, while Kevin Hayes has five goals already this postseason. Crawford has continued his strong play, with two shutouts and a .937 save percentage, as well as a remarkable 16.99 GSAA through six games. Bryan Bickell will miss another one or two months with an upper body injury sustained just before the playoffs.
Prediction: Chicago in six. With Kane potentially returning they will be fielding perhaps the most dangerous lineup in the West as long as they are all healthy and Corey Crawford has been in incredible form.

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(8) Ottawa Senators @ (2) Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings: The second best team in the East is the top seed remaining. They had the best powerplay in the NHL this year. Thomas Tatar led them in goals with 39, and Henrik Zetterberg led them with 84 points. Rookie Petr Mrazek took the starting role from veteran Jimmy Howard and finished the year with seven shutouts and 37 wins. They have been led by Gus Nyquist in scoring this postseason, he has four goals and five assists in six games. Third line center Cory Emmerton has eight points and a plus eight rating through one round. Captain Henrik Zetterberg has four goals and six points. Mrazek has struggled on this stage so far, with an abysmal .884 save percentage and a -1.32 GSAA. They face a lot of injuries to start the series, Brendan Smith is out for a couple of months yet, and Frans Nielsen, Pavel Datsyuk, Valtteri Filppula and Andrej Meszaros are all day to day.
Senators: After squeaking into the playoffs with 81 points on a tie-break with Columbus, Ottawa shocked the hockey world by eliminating the President's Trophy winning Penguins in six games. In the regular season it was sophomore forward Filip Forsberg who led them in goals with 28. Superstar Erik Karlsson led them in points (65) as a defenseman. Bishop and Anderson split the crease very evenly, with Anderson getting 42 starts (5 shutouts, 22 wins, .918sv%) and Bishop (4 shutouts, 14 wins, .903sv%) getting 40 starts. However, they've gone with Bishop so far this playoffs and he hasn't disappointed, facing down Pittsburgh's dominant offense in round one and coming out with a .940 save percentage. Erik Karlsson has stepped up his play to another level, and leads the Sens with eight points in six games. Mika Zibanejad has four goals and six points. Captain Jason Spezza has struggled with only two points and a minus two rating in six games. Depth forward Jesse Winchester is out indefinitely with an upper body injury.
Prediction: Red Wings in 4. Ottawa's luck will run out, and Mrazek's play should correct toward his regular season numbers. Apart from Karlsson there is very little firepower and not much depth in Ottawa. Bishop's play should regress this series and without him stealing games the Senators don't have the quality to be competitive against a very strong Detroit squad.

(5) New York Rangers @ (3) Boston Bruins
Bruins: The third place Bruins led the league in goals against while also having the second best power play and fifth best penalty kill. Tyler Seguin lead them in goals with 36 and points with 74, but sustained a serious arm injury just before the playoffs and is out indefinitely. Tuukka Rask (six shutouts) and Tim Thomas (four shutouts) are arguably the best goalie tandem in the league, and this playoffs it has been Tuukka's crease. He hasn't disappointed, posting a .940 save percentage and a shutout in a five game first round series against Montreal. Their blueline is deep, with captain Zdeno Chara and rookie sensation Dougie Hamilton headlining a group that also has the productive Torey Krug and defensive stalwarts Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid, along with veteran Dennis Seidenberg. Marchand has seven points in five games to lead them in scoring. Lucic has four goals and rookie star Dougie Hamilton has three goals and three assists as a defeneseman.
Rangers: With 100 points the Rangers finished fifth in the East. They had the second best penalty kill in the league with 87% efficiency. Gaborik led them in goals with 27 and sophomore centre Mark Scheifele exploded onto the scene with a team leading 57 points. Acquiring him for Del Zotto and Sheppard last season is looking like a real coup. Their top four are among the best in the league, and although none of them will have an offensive stat line that jumps off the page, you would be hard pressed to find a more defensively stalwart group in the league than Staal-McDonagh and Alzner-Girardi. King Henrik had 40 wins and 6 shutouts this season. They made quick work of the Flyers in round one, with three players (Zuccarello, Scheifele, McDonagh) all producing six points in the four game sweep. Lundqvist posted a shutout and a .930 save percentage. They have the luxury of a clean bill of health heading into round 2.
Prediction: Rangers in seven. This should be an amazing series of playoff hockey with two elite netminders and two of the best bluelines in the league facing off. The Bruins are still missing their top offensive forward in Seguin, and goals should be hard to come by this series, so the Rangers forward depth and health gives them the slight edge.