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Back in the Saddle
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/18/09 at 03:25 PM ET
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Good afternoon folks. I apologize for not having posted this week as I was busy packing up my things and getting ready to move into my new condo next weekend. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about Kukla’s Korner.
As you’re all aware of, the NHL Conference Finals are officially under way. Yesterday’s Game 1 between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks showed that the Blackhawks still have a lot to learn about what it means to be a successful playoff team. Sure, they were able to stay in the majority of the game but there are so many things they can learn just from watching the Wings and how they compete with consistency on a nightly basis.
Tonight, the Eastern Conference finals hits the ice as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Many pundits and fans see this as going six games in favor of the Penguins but let’s not forget that the Hurricanes have not lost a playoff series since 2002 in the Cup finals to the Red Wings. Sure, they’ve only made the postseason twice since 2002 but nevertheless, they’ve been pretty successful so far - wouldn’t you say?
I want to hear your predictions folks:
- Who’s going to win the East? Why?
- Who’s going to win the West, Why?
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chicago+Blackhawks, Detroit+Red+Wings, Pittsburg+Penguins, Stanley+Cup+Playoffs,
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Patrick has a tremendous passion for hockey. Besides covering the Rangers and the NHL for Kukla’s Korner, you can also find Patrick’s work over at RLD Hockey, Rangers Tribune, and TheGoodPoint.com.
Prior to writing for the above mentioned outlets, you could find Patrick’s musings at hockey web sites/outlets such as TheHockeyNews.com, The Fourth Period, Spector’s Hockey, Hokeja Vestnesis, Blueshirt Bulletin, SNYRangersBlog.com and many more.
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Wings in the west, experience is valuable, and more importantly, the Wings make it harder on their opposition than any other team in the league. Vancouver and Calgary made it (relatively speaking) easy for the Hawks—look no further than the game-tying goal the Flames gifted Havlat early in the series.
Detroit’s defense is better—first pair is better, even though Keith/Seabrook is great, because it has Nick Lidstrom—can’t beat that. Second pair is better because Campbell isn’t a stalwart in his own zone the way Stuart has been, and Kronwall provides offensive upside.
Detroit’s 7-12 forwards have a lot more talent. That was on display in the first game, where Samuelsson scored a goal, and Cleary scored twice. And yes, Cleary isn’t even one of Detroit’s six most talented offensive forwards—Hossa, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Filppula, and Hudler are more naturally gifted offensive threats.
And Osgood has been better than Khabibulin. Look at the playoff numbers—the two goalies have faced a similar number of shots, and yet Ozzie sports a 0.922 save % compared to Khabibulin’s 0.897. The GAA numbers favor Osgood, as well. Not only will Khabibulin have to outplay Ozzie in this series, he’ll have to massively outplay him, and get some other unexpected performances from teammates. Example—Hiller outplayed Osgood by a sizable margin (because he had to), the Marchant line was unexpectedly good, and yet Detroit’s depth still wore the Ducks down. Hiller was hotter going into that series, while Khabibulin is actually in a bit of an average streak going into this one, so not exactly what Chicago needs. Khabibulin also has crummy career numbers against Detroit. Look at his playoff numbers against them in 1996 and 1998, and his regular season numbers since he’s been in Chicago.
In the East, it’s tough. All logic says pick the Pens. But the Canes have defied logic twice now, and done it in dramatic fashion. Unlike Chicago, the Canes can point to perhaps an advantage in Cup-winning experience in their series with the Pens. Staal, Ward, Brind’Amour, Cole, etc. all know what it takes to win in the finals. Even a couple guys from the 2002 run are still on the roster.
Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 05/18/09 at 03:57 PM ET