In a shocking turn of events on the final day of the Season, The Ottawa Senators knocked off the Boston Bruins 4-2 and have greatly affected the East playoff picture. The Bruins loss means they lose out on winning the division, and Montreal wins it and finishes in 2nd place. Boston then slides to 4th to play 5th place Toronto, and the Senators with a win tonight moved up to 7th place and will face Montreal (they passed the Islanders who finish 8th and face the Penguins). With that being said, here is the first round predictions for the Eastern Conference:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 8. New York Islanders
Pittsburgh won the season series 4-1-0, New York leads the playoff history 3-0 vs Pittsburgh
Players to Watch: PIT - Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Jarome Iginla, Kris Letang. NYI - John Tavares, Matt Moulson, Evgeni Nabokov, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen
X-Factor - PIT - Sidney Crosby. NYI - John Tavares
Notes: It is hard to overlook the amount of firepower that both teams have in this series, but the fact is that Pittsburgh comes in as the heavy favourites. The Penguins are the best team in the East, and made some serious acquisitions at the deadline getting Jarome Iginla, Jussi Jokinen, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray. The Penguins will rely on the supporting cast of Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Neal, Kunitz, Dupuis as well as the new additions and role players to lead them in this series, and they will need strong goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury. The Islanders come in as the serious underdogs here, there isn't much they can do besides take that underdog role and play as feisty as they can. The Islanders have a slight chance if 2 things happen: 1. John Tavares takes over the series, and 2. Evgeni Nabokov stands on his head.
Prediction - The Penguins are way too good and too deep to lose in the 1st round this season
(PENGUINS in 6)
2. Montreal Canadiens vs. 7. Ottawa Senators
Both teams went 2-1-1 in the season series, they have never met in the Playoffs before
Players to Watch: MTL - Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, PK Subban, Max Pacioretty, Michael Ryder. OTT - Erik Karlsson, Craig Anderson, Sergei Gonchar, Kyle Turris, Mika Zibanejad
X-Factor - MTL - Carey Price. OTT - Erik Karlsson
Notes: The Senators shook-up the playoff picture beating the Bruins on the last day of the season, and they now will face the Montreal Canadiens instead of the Pittsburgh Penguins in round 1. The Canadiens win the division and head into this series as the heavy favourite. Montreal is lead by Carey Price in net, Subban and Markov on D and several good forwards including 2 top rookies in Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk. The Canadiens will need solid goaltending from Price and goal scoring from all lines to win this series, as the Sens will be feisty. The Senators rely on Craig Anderson in net, and Erik Karlsson/Sergei Gonchar on D. They have Captain Alfredsson playing with Michalek and Turris, as their best player Jason Spezza has been out all season with a back injury. They also have a rookie line of Silfverberg-Conacher-Zibanejad that will be interesting, especially if they find chemistry in the playoffs.
Prediction - The Montreal Canadiens have much more depth than the Sens and move on to the 2nd round
(CANADIENS in 6)
3. Washington Capitals vs. 6. New York Rangers
New York won the season series 2-0-1, Washington leads playoff history 3-2
Players to Watch: WSH - Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, Mike Ribeiro, Braden Holtby. NYR - Rick Nash, Henrik Lundqvist, Brad Richards, Ryan Callahan, Derek Stepan
X-Factor: WSH - Alexander Ovechkin. NYR - Henrik Lundqvist
Notes: Rangers and Capitals, renew the rivalry, 4th time in 5 years these teams have met in the playoffs. The Rangers beat the Capitals 2-1 in game 7 in the 2nd round last year, and the teams are set to meet again in 2013. The Capitals come in as one of the hottest teams in the NHL down the stretch, lead by Captain Alexander Ovechkin fresh off leading the NHL in goals with 32. Ovie looks like his elite self and is ready to explode in the playoffs, with a supporting cast of Backstrom, Ribiero, Carlson, Green, and Brouwer the Caps are primed for a good playoff run. Problem is they meet a strong New York team, lead by one of the the best goalies in the NHL in Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers also have Rick Nash, who only played 4 playoff games in his tenure in Columbus and is absolutely thrilled to get this chance. The Rangers are strong up front with Nash, Richards, Callahan and Stepan and will have a tough task with New York. The Capitals need strong play from Braden Holtby to be successful in the series
Prediction - The Capitals, lead by Alexander Ovechkin, march on to the 2nd round
(CAPITALS in 7)
4. Boston Bruins vs. 5. Toronto Maple Leaf
Boston won the season series 3-1-0, Toronto leads playoff history 8-5
Players to Watch: BOS - Jaromir Jagr, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask, Brad Marchand, Tyler Seguin. TOR - Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, James Van Riemsdyk, Dion Phaneuf, James Reimer
X-Factor: BOS - Jaromir Jagr, TOR - Phil Kessel
Notes: The team that was the most affected by Sundays game was the Toronto Maple Leafs, as instead of playing the Canadiens they now meet the big bad Bruins in round 1. The Bruins dropped the final 2 games of the season to lose the division, and will head into the playoffs as the 4th seed in the East. The Bruins have a very similar roster to the 2011 Stanley Cup Champions roster, the 2 major additions are Jaromir Jagr and rookie D Dougie Hamilton. However the one biggest change is in net, as Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas is no longer in Boston, the pressure will be on Tuukka Rask to carry the load for the Bruins. The Bruins are lead upfront by Jagr, Bergeron, Marchand, Seguin, Lucic, Horton and Krejci with Chara and Seidenberg running the D. Their opponent in the 1st round will be the Toronto Maple Leafs, who enter the playoffs for the first time in 9 years. The Leafs will be the big underdog in this series, but they are not going to go away easy. Lead by former Bruin Phil Kessel, the supporting cast of Lupul Kadri JVR Phaneuf, and James Reimer in net, the Leafs will look to pull the upset
Prediction - The Bruins are too much for the Leafs, and move on to the 2nd round
(BRUINS in 6)
This would have Pittsburgh (1), Montreal (2), Washington (3) and Boston (4) moving on
The matchups would then look as follows:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 4. Boston Bruins and 2. Montreal Canadiens vs. 3. Washington Capitals
This concludes my first round preview and predictions, I will be back for the 2nd round. The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs start on Tuesday!
Joel Forman - Stanley Cup Playoffs 2013
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