NHL playoffs start in two days... I love this time of year. Without further adieu, here's the first round matchups:
Western Conference
(1) San Jose Sharks vs (8) Anaheim Ducks
To quote from an e-mail I recently sent... "as a Sharks fan I was cursing J.S. Giguere when he allowed that shootout goal Saturday night... taking the Ducks down from a 6 to possible 8 (which of course came to pass) seed. I do fall back, though, on something I was told be a fellow Sharks fan... 'the goal isn't to win one round... the goal is to win the Cup, and to do that you have to beat everyone'. That said, I would have preferred either Anaheim or Detroit to knock the other out in a 2-7 matchup. The way the universe does things, though, San Jose would probably have lost to St Louis as the 8 seed."
So, it should be a highly entertaining series to watch and I'm viewing it as an enormous litmus test to see just how good this Sharks team is. Whereas last season's first round win over Calgary in 7 games was cause for concern (justifiably so it turned out), me thinks a win over Anaheim in 7 would be just fine.
(2) Detroit Red Wings vs (7) Columbus Blue Jackets
An interesting series. I will be very curious to watch to see just how good this Steve Mason fellow does against the Wings.
(3) Vancouver Canucks vs (6) St. Louis Blues
Roberto Luongo vs Chris Mason... I wonder if anyone will score.
(4) Chicago Blackhawks vs (5) Calgary Flames
Not sure what to expect. Me thinks Calgary will be the better team, though.
Eastern Conference
(1) Boston Bruins vs (8) Montreal Canadiens
I think the Bruins will roll. Actually, I think first they'll beat up Montreal, then roll.
(2) Washington Capitals vs (7) New York Rangers
Intriguing, but I think Washington will be too good for the Rangers.
(3) New Jersey Devils vs (6) Carolina Hurricanes
I know there are people really interested in this series, I'm just not one of them.
(4) Pittsburgh vs (5) Philadelphia
Should be great hockey, can't wait to watch.
Showing posts with label NHL playoff matchups. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NHL playoff matchups. Show all posts
Monday, April 13, 2009
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Go Caps Go... and desired playoff matchups
The title is a bit misleading as the Capitals don't need any help... they beat the Panthers today and took the 3 seed in the East with Carolina being good enough to lose to Florida Thursday and open the door for Ovechkin and company.
Actually, with that lose, Carolina in effect went from the 3 seed to the 9 (pending of course the eventual Caps win today) and clinched playoff spots for Boston, Ottawa and Philadelphia.
The West has been a bit simpler in that Vancouver's lose on Thursday gave the 8 spot to Nashville... meaning that since Thursday, the West has simply been about 1-8 seedings and now the East has joined in this status.
So, the heavy lifting of getting there is done, but still quite a few things to get figured out on the final day. The various potential matchups are many so rather than listing out everything that could happen, let's look at what we'd like to see and what it would take on the final day to make that happen.
Western Conference desired matchups:
(1) Detroit vs (8) Nashville... set in stone.
(4) Anaheim vs (5) Dallas... set in stone.
(2) San Jose vs (7) Colorado... very much up in the air. Assuming Calgary wins vs Vancouver (safe bet as they're up 4-1 right now), this matchup would occur if Colorado loses in regulation to Minnesota on Sunday (not sure what an OTL would result in).
(3) Minnesota vs (6) Calgary... see above. Calgary and Colorado seedings will depend on Colorado's last game Sunday vs the Wild.
Eastern Conference desired matchups:
(4) New Jersey vs (5) NY Rangers... set in stone, just will have home ice determined by their game Sunday.
(2) Montreal vs (7) Boston... set in stone. Will be either with Montreal 1 or 2 and Boston 7 or 8 in the conference pending the Pittsburgh-Philly game Sunday.
(1) Pittsburgh vs (8) Philadelphia... would come about if Pittsburgh can beat the Flyers on Sunday. If they lose to Philly, Pittsburgh would play Ottawa in round one.
(3) Washington vs (6) Ottawa... see above. Could have Ottawa and the Flyers flipping opponents for their respective first round matchups.
Either way... the playoffs are oh so close to being here and everything starts over at the beginning. Don't be shocked at any lower seeds advancing... wasn't too long ago that the 1-4 seeds in the West all lost to the 5-8 teams. Hopefully that doesn't happen this year, but all bets are off in the wild and wooly NHL playoffs.
Actually, with that lose, Carolina in effect went from the 3 seed to the 9 (pending of course the eventual Caps win today) and clinched playoff spots for Boston, Ottawa and Philadelphia.
The West has been a bit simpler in that Vancouver's lose on Thursday gave the 8 spot to Nashville... meaning that since Thursday, the West has simply been about 1-8 seedings and now the East has joined in this status.
So, the heavy lifting of getting there is done, but still quite a few things to get figured out on the final day. The various potential matchups are many so rather than listing out everything that could happen, let's look at what we'd like to see and what it would take on the final day to make that happen.
Western Conference desired matchups:
(1) Detroit vs (8) Nashville... set in stone.
(4) Anaheim vs (5) Dallas... set in stone.
(2) San Jose vs (7) Colorado... very much up in the air. Assuming Calgary wins vs Vancouver (safe bet as they're up 4-1 right now), this matchup would occur if Colorado loses in regulation to Minnesota on Sunday (not sure what an OTL would result in).
(3) Minnesota vs (6) Calgary... see above. Calgary and Colorado seedings will depend on Colorado's last game Sunday vs the Wild.
Eastern Conference desired matchups:
(4) New Jersey vs (5) NY Rangers... set in stone, just will have home ice determined by their game Sunday.
(2) Montreal vs (7) Boston... set in stone. Will be either with Montreal 1 or 2 and Boston 7 or 8 in the conference pending the Pittsburgh-Philly game Sunday.
(1) Pittsburgh vs (8) Philadelphia... would come about if Pittsburgh can beat the Flyers on Sunday. If they lose to Philly, Pittsburgh would play Ottawa in round one.
(3) Washington vs (6) Ottawa... see above. Could have Ottawa and the Flyers flipping opponents for their respective first round matchups.
Either way... the playoffs are oh so close to being here and everything starts over at the beginning. Don't be shocked at any lower seeds advancing... wasn't too long ago that the 1-4 seeds in the West all lost to the 5-8 teams. Hopefully that doesn't happen this year, but all bets are off in the wild and wooly NHL playoffs.
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