2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Conference Finals!
Ugh, the fact that all these games are so close together and I have barely any time to write anything (I haven't even written the eulogies for the 3 eliminated teams...) but hey, I'll do my best in VERY quickly writing something for the conference finals.
Eastern Conference
#1 New York Rangers vs. #6 New Jersey Devils: the Rangers have gone to 7 games in both of their series and the Devils are very well rested team. These teams know each other fairly well after playing against each other 6 times a season. But for some reason, the playoffs have brought out the best (and the worst) in all the teams. The Devils are suddenly able to generate far more offense than everyone thought they could (Kovalchuk is scoring, which is a great change of pace). On the flip side, the Rangers have relied VERY heavily on shot-blocking, defense, and good goaltending. The Rangers are known as the shot-blocking machine, a team that collapses in front of their goalie whenever the other team is on the attack so they can't even get a clean shot at the net, and it's worked for them. The only down side is that because they're so focused on defense, their offense hasn't been all that great. They've only scored an average of about 2-3 goals a game, which has helped them win BUT when you put that up against an offensively strong team like New Jersey, is that enough?
One big story in this series has to be goaltending. You have future Hall of Famer in Martin Brodeur on one end and Vezina candidate Henrik Lundqvist on the other end, talk about stacked in the goaltending department. This series MAY come down to which goalie blinks first, which I have thoroughly excited to see. Will the Rangers be too tired? Too worn down from shot-blocking against Washington? Or will the Devils' rest hinder their effectiveness? --> Prediction: Rangers in 7 (only because I think the Rangers have what it takes to win, their defense is good, their goaltending is good, and they block shots. The goals will come when they need it, so it's not completely impossible to win by scoring less than an ideal number of goals)
Western Conference
#3 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #8 Los Angeles Kings: we are in unfamiliar territory now for both of these teams. The Coyotes as a franchise have never reached this stage of the playoffs and this territory is new even for a lot of the veterans on the team. They've made it this far because Mike Smith is having nothing short of a miracle run, but will his miracle run out? Or will he be another goalie that came out of nowhere to lead his team to the Cup (like Cam Ward and Antti Niemi)? The Coyotes have been the team that no one looks at because they play in the desert, that and because they've been miserably bad for YEARS but now, they're a contender, the surprising one anyways.
On the other side of the ice, you have another surprise, the LA Kings, a team that hasn't made it this far into the playoffs in forever (and as a franchise, never won the Cup either). While many of the players on the team have made it this far and further, as a team, they've never made it this far and it seems like the off-season changes have made it work for this team. They've also made it this far because of Jonathan Quick, and the offense finally finding its footing after a disappointing regular season (they were the lowest scoring team to make the playoffs). So, will THEIR goaltending miracle run out? Or will their suddenly hot offense save the day? --> Prediction: LA in 6. (This team eliminated the 1st and 2nd seeded teams, I can't exactly imagine why they can't do it again to the 3rd seeded team).
That was horribly written, but it covers this round, and I'll add more when I get the chance to! Conference finals! We're almost there!
Eastern Conference
#1 New York Rangers vs. #6 New Jersey Devils: the Rangers have gone to 7 games in both of their series and the Devils are very well rested team. These teams know each other fairly well after playing against each other 6 times a season. But for some reason, the playoffs have brought out the best (and the worst) in all the teams. The Devils are suddenly able to generate far more offense than everyone thought they could (Kovalchuk is scoring, which is a great change of pace). On the flip side, the Rangers have relied VERY heavily on shot-blocking, defense, and good goaltending. The Rangers are known as the shot-blocking machine, a team that collapses in front of their goalie whenever the other team is on the attack so they can't even get a clean shot at the net, and it's worked for them. The only down side is that because they're so focused on defense, their offense hasn't been all that great. They've only scored an average of about 2-3 goals a game, which has helped them win BUT when you put that up against an offensively strong team like New Jersey, is that enough?
One big story in this series has to be goaltending. You have future Hall of Famer in Martin Brodeur on one end and Vezina candidate Henrik Lundqvist on the other end, talk about stacked in the goaltending department. This series MAY come down to which goalie blinks first, which I have thoroughly excited to see. Will the Rangers be too tired? Too worn down from shot-blocking against Washington? Or will the Devils' rest hinder their effectiveness? --> Prediction: Rangers in 7 (only because I think the Rangers have what it takes to win, their defense is good, their goaltending is good, and they block shots. The goals will come when they need it, so it's not completely impossible to win by scoring less than an ideal number of goals)
Western Conference
#3 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #8 Los Angeles Kings: we are in unfamiliar territory now for both of these teams. The Coyotes as a franchise have never reached this stage of the playoffs and this territory is new even for a lot of the veterans on the team. They've made it this far because Mike Smith is having nothing short of a miracle run, but will his miracle run out? Or will he be another goalie that came out of nowhere to lead his team to the Cup (like Cam Ward and Antti Niemi)? The Coyotes have been the team that no one looks at because they play in the desert, that and because they've been miserably bad for YEARS but now, they're a contender, the surprising one anyways.
On the other side of the ice, you have another surprise, the LA Kings, a team that hasn't made it this far into the playoffs in forever (and as a franchise, never won the Cup either). While many of the players on the team have made it this far and further, as a team, they've never made it this far and it seems like the off-season changes have made it work for this team. They've also made it this far because of Jonathan Quick, and the offense finally finding its footing after a disappointing regular season (they were the lowest scoring team to make the playoffs). So, will THEIR goaltending miracle run out? Or will their suddenly hot offense save the day? --> Prediction: LA in 6. (This team eliminated the 1st and 2nd seeded teams, I can't exactly imagine why they can't do it again to the 3rd seeded team).
That was horribly written, but it covers this round, and I'll add more when I get the chance to! Conference finals! We're almost there!