By Mike Ivcic
So the weekend came and went, during which time the NHL calendar flipped from Round 2 to Round 3 of the playoffs. Despite being completely and totally aware of the games, I somehow managed to overlook the fact that the change in rounds would subsequently require another preview. Oops.
Regardless, I am back with a preview of the conference finals, where one sees the top two seeds go head-to-head in a much anticipated clash, and the other sees the bottom two seeds meet in a “we were just glad to be invited and NOW look where we are” series. Forgive me if I feel much more excited about the former than the latter.
Eastern Conference
(7) Philadelphia vs (8) Montreal
I did my research, and as far as I can tell this is the first time under the current playoff format (adopted in 1994) that a team had home-ice advantage in the conference finals after NOT having it in either of the first two rounds. It makes the Flyers the favorite, even if Montreal has the Jaroslav Halak, who has managed to fluster the two best teams (my opinion) in the East this season. It certainly didn’t look like Philly much cared who Halak and the Habs had beaten the first two rounds, and the Flyers destroyed the Canadiens 6-0. Still, this is a Montreal team that’s been down before – 3-1 to the Capitals in round 1, and 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 to the Penguins in round 2. They won’t be flustered, they won’t be frustrated, and eventually they will find the Flyers weakness and exploit it. They stopped Washington’s lethal power play and outscored Pittsburgh 5-on-5. Still, Philly’s now won five straight, which is very good for any time during the playoffs. Gagne is healthy and Michael Leighton hasn’t blinked yet after stepping in for the injured Brian Boucher. If that continues, the Flyers will win the East. Still, after the first two rounds, I have a hard time betting against Halak and the Habs.
Montreal 4, Philadelphia 3
Western Conference
(1) San Jose vs (2) Chicago
While the two lightweights play for the Prince of Wales trophy, the two heavyweights will be slugging it out for the Clarence Campbell trophy. San Jose has been the best team in the West during the regular season for quite some time, equal to Detroit, but they haven’t been able to put it together in the playoffs until now. Even the 2-1 win by the Blackhawks shouldn’t make the Sharks feel any less confident about their chances in this series. Vancouver lit up Antti Niemi at times in round two, and the Sharks should be able to do the same in this series. The key for San Jose is keeping Chicago off the board. Roberto Luongo struggled with that task in the Blackhawks second round series win, and with all of the scoring power Chicago boasts, it could be difficult for Evgeni Nabokov to do the same. As happens quite frequently in playoff hockey, this series could come down to goaltending and home ice advantage. Even though Niemi has played well and the Blackhawks already won a game in Northern California, it’s still the Sharks series to lose – and based upon their performance in the first two rounds, especially their quick dispatching of the two-time West champion Red Wings, I don’t think that will be the case.
San Jose 4, Chicago 3
And yes, I did just take both teams that lost game one to win the series, so clearly I’m not using game 1 in either series to affect my judgment. The problem for me is that my judgment hasn’t been very good this postseason to begin with, but with three series left, that can certainly change.
First Round: A very disappointing 4-4
Second Round: A very disappointing 2-2
Overall: Obviously, a very disappointing 6-6
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