16 Wins to Immortality for Colorado
Is one more in the cards for Colorado?
In a league which shows a great deal of parity, especially amongst the top tier of teams, repeating as cup champion in back-to-back years is no easy task. In the 14 seasons of the WCHL, only the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche have ever done it.
Colorado is coming off of those two straight titles looking for a third. While San jose came very close to three-peating, no team in WCHL history has ever claimed three straight WCHL Cups. Colorado will take their stab at it starting tonight, when they host the Nashville Predators at the Pepsi Center.
"This is what this season has been all about," said General Manager Ryan McClanahan. "The regular season was important for sure, but we're all about success in the playoffs. Winning every game in the regualr season is meaningless to me unless we win the Cup also. We want that trophy."
While it is expected they will get through the upstart Predators, the road to a third straight title could be very forboding, especially when one looks at the Eastern Conference, where every team reached 100 points this year, topped by the New York Rangers who finished with 126. Expect lot of heated battles all the way through the conference, and possibly the lone way a team from the once-dominant Western Conference wins the title this year is if the East literally beats itself up on te way there.
Below are my predictions for the first round of the WCHL Playoffs:
Western Conference
(1) Calgary Flames vs. (8) Columbus Blue Jackets- In a rematch from the second round last year, the Flames look to propel themselves to a lengthy playoff run at the expense of the Blue Jackets.
For the Flames, the past three seasons have been largely a disappointment in the post-season. After going the distance in Season 11, the Flames have been unable to reclaim all of that playoff magic despite a very talented roster. Last year was the most successful of the three but also the most painful, blowing a 2-0 series lead to the Avalanche in the conference finals and losing 4-2. Now the Flames are looking to use their very strong regular season as a push towards their second WCHL title. Led my the likes of Mike Richards, Steven Stamkos and Cam Ward, they definately have the horses to get there.
Columbus meanwhile is back for their third straight playoffs, but a slight stumble at the end of the season seen them land on the wrong side of a three-way tie for sixth place, and set up a date with the Flames. While the Flames cruised past the Blue Jackets last year, overall Columbus has proven to be a tough out in the first round the past two years and pulled off the upset of the playoffs last year by besting the San Jose Sharks. Led by Jason Spezza, Claude Giroux and Seymon Varlamov, the Blue Jackets can do a lot of damage if they are clicking.
Columbus comes bearing the leagues third best powerplay in the regular season, but the Flames hold the edge in everything else, including the second-ranked penalty kill and third-ranked offense. Calgary appears to be just too solid all-around, and were the lone consistant team from start to finish in the Western Conference this year, as they clearly have their focus on the WCHL Cup this year. Columbus will put up a good fight as usual, but it won't be enough. Calgary Flames in six.
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Minnesota Wild- Once again, the San Jose Sharks find themselves against an upstart team just trying to prove they belong in the playoffs, and that's been a recipe for disaster for San Jose in the past.
The Sharks are trying hard to reclaim the glory of past years, where at one point they seemed to be unstoppable, claiming four cups in six seasons. It's been tough sledding though recently for San Jose, who have been tripped up in the first or second round to often, despite holding home ice advantage in every series they've played in in the Western Conference. They once again look to be the best team in this series, but best hasn't always prevailed for a Sharks team loaded with the likes of Jonathan Toews, Eric Staal and Zdeno Chara.
Minnesota is freshly returning to the post-season after a lengthy absence, and the retooling done by GM Alex Tanev is paying off. The last team in the WCHL to clinch a post-season berth, the Wild actually took a late season charge that carried them to seventh and a date with the Sharks, and they are hoping that performance carries over to the playoffs. The wild card in all of this could be Jaromir Jagr, who after spending the season with the Montreal Canadiens, found himself in a whirlwind of activity and came to the Wild via waivers after a brief passover in Washington. It's unclear if he has much left in the tank, but the experience and leadership Jagr could provide may provide a huge boost for a Wild offense that ranks deadlast in goals amongst playoff-bound teams.
The first two games of this series will likely be the telling point of the series. San Jose needs to establish dominance early and often, or they risk once again allowing a perceived weaker team gaining an upperhand on them. The Wild upgraded their offense down the stretch with Jagr and a trade for Justin Williams, but it is the Sharks who on paper should win this series. Expect the special teams to play a huge role in this series, as the Sharks and Wild were the two most penalized teams in the league for clubs that made the post-season. San Jose Sharks in six.
(3) Los Angeles Kings vs. (6) Detroit Red Wings- In an unlikely match up, two revamped teams had surprisingly strong seasons, leading to post-season berths. But only one is guaranteed to make it past the opening round.
For the Kings, it's been a season of success. After barely making the playoffs last year, the Kings roared out of the gates early and held their pace for much of the season, nearly snatching the Smythe Division title away from the San Jose Sharks in the process. Only a five game winning streak to close out the season allowed San Jose to maintain control of the division. The Kings are one of the oldest teams in the playoffs, but with the likes of Tim Thomas, Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Carter, they have the ability to make opponents pay, both with talent and experience.
Detroit at one point sat in fourth place in the conference, but a downward slide hurt them in the second half. Despite this, the Wings are also looking to use expereince to their benefit in this match up, with the elderly duo of Evgeni Nabokov and Nikolai Khabibulin in net, with forwards like Alex Burrows, Michael Ryder and Danius Zubrus also pushing the team forward, both with talent and age. It will be interesting to see who has anything left in tank from a club with only one regular -Kyle Cuminsky- under the age of 28.
This series could be all about who has the most left in the tank. While expereince is important at this time of year, for your older players so is rest, and both teams have ridden some of their veteran players hard down the stretch. Los Angeles figures to have an overall adge in talent, but where things could get interesting is on the powerplay, where the Wings second-best powerplay during the regularseason will match up against a Kings defense that is now without Jay Bouwmeester. Still, Los Angeles should prevail but don't expect it to be easy. Los Angeles Kings in seven.
(4) Colorado Avalanche vs. (5) Nashville Predators- The season is just now beginning for the Avalanche, while in Nashville some fans are trying to figure out why the team is still playing.
For Colorado, this is just another season of seasons filled largely with high playoff expectations. After years of failing to claim the top prize, Colorado did it twice in a row and now fans are holding their collective breath in anticipation of a possible three-peat; the first in WCHL history. It will be different this year though, as the club hopes to do it without the services of long-time leader Niklas Lidstrom, who retired last season. The absence has been felt by the Avalanche, who struggled for a while and were even outside of the playoff picture just after the mid-season mark before rallying down the stretch. Now it's time to see what this club is really made of.
In Nashville however, this season mrks the first for the Predators to ctually make the playoffs. After years of futility, the club was able to ride a strong first half and a weak conference into the second season. Expected by many to be a likely non-factor again this year, several trades for veterans such as Roberto Luongo, Mike Green and Alexander Steen helped propel the Predators into the playoffs and give them a chance to be the first team in over two years to best the Avalanche in a best-of-seven series.
The Predators finished with the leagues sixth ranked powerplay, but Colorado figures to match up against that well with the fourth ranked penalty kill. All in all, the Avalanche figure to have an edge over the Predators in virtually every area, so it will just be a matter of whether or not Ilya Bryzgalov will show up in the post-seson. If he doesn,'t, Nashville could have the edge given they have a great goaltender of their own in net; Roberto Luongo. Expect Bryzgalov to show up enough to make a difference, but the fact the Predators ranked second in the lague in hits per game -and most among teams to reach the playoffs- means they will leave a mark on the Avs at least. Colorado Avalanche in six.
Eastern Conference
(1) New York Rangers vs. (8) Tampa Bay Lightning- The New York Rangers are hoping its a case of third times the charm, which Tampa Bay is just excited to be here as two clubs at different ends of a rebuild face off.
The Rangers actual rebuild ended long again, but they are still aiming for their first WCHL Cup. After getting swept by the Flames in the finals in Season 11, the Rangers returned to the finals last year, only to to fall once again, this time to the Avalanche. After an amazing regular season that seen the Rangers capture the Presidents Trophy with a 59-win, 126-point season, the Rangers are hoping this is finally the year they go the distance. Long time Ranger leads Anze Kopitar, Stephen Weiss and Henrik Lundqvist, all of whom are likley to be involved in discussions during awards time as well, also hope this is finally the year they can stop answering questions about when they will finally go the distance.
Tampa Bay on the other hand is just glas they can stop answering questions about when they will make the playoffs again. A strong start catapulted the Lighting to a 45-win, 100-point season, the first of both for the club in WCHL history. Unfortunately for them, they did in a season when the entire Eastern Confeence light the league up like a Christmas tree and those 100 points were only good enough for eighth place and a date with the Rangers juggernaut.
To get a picture of just how good the Rangers were this year, the Lightning ranked eighth best in the WCHL in terms of goals for versus goals against with a +42. Despite this, the Rangers allowed 27 fewer goals against than Tampa Bay, while scoring 37 more goals, giving them a +106 goal differential, by far best in the league. The Rangers also ranked 1st in both goals for and goals against. Needless to say, the Lightning have their work cut out for them. New York Rangers in five.
(2) Ottawa Senators vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres- A year ago it seemed unlikely the Ottawa Seantors would be hosting a playoff series, but a confident run through the Adams Division shows the Senators are indeed on the right path.
Despite a dramatic trade involving the former face of the franchise in Matt Duchene, the Ottawa Senators rode a great regular season into a divisional crown and a post-season berth this year, another clear step forward for a club which has made several big strides in recent years. Bobby Ryan -who was just added at the trade deadline- Milan Michalek and Ilya Kovalchuk have ingited a Senators offense and guided them to a 55 win season and a top seed in an overly competitive Eastern Conference.
Oddly enough, Buffalo should feel more entitled to the second seed in the division than Ottawa. While scoring the exact same number of goals as Ottawa during the regular season -264- the Sabres also allowed 25 fewer goals against than the Senators. In fact, until a stumble down the stretch in which they went 3-6-1 in their final 10 games, the Sabres actually had abetter record than the Senators as well. As such, this should be a very interesting series.
The fact Buffalo ranked fourth in the league in goals against average and tops on the powerplay should bode well for them, but Ottawa is a more physical team and have proven to be better during five-on-five play, so this series could be down to the wire. Buffalo Sabres in seven.
(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) New York Islanders- Two teams going in opposite directions face off in this talent loaded first round match up that is all about one big trade between the two clubs.
The New Jersey Devils are proof that one trade can make all the difference. A team most figured would only maybe make the playoffs at the start of the season as they were undergoing a mini-rebuild, the Devils swung a huge trade with, of all teams, the Islanders at the start of the season, picking up stars like Kari Lehtonen and Jarome Iginla for a package of mostly younger players led by T.J. Oshie. That trade led to the Devils going on a remarkable run and nearly catching the Rangers for top spot in the WCHL. A 58-win, 121 point season and huge hopes came largely as a result of that one trade.
Meanwhile, the New York Islanders now have to be wondering what if that hadn't made that deal. While still posting a respectable season, reaching 109 points, the Islanders certainly would have done a lot better this year with those players, especially Iginla, in the line up, not to mention now they ahve to try and beat them in the playoffs. Still, New York did add some talent for the future while Iginla is slated to be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Oshie ended up leading the Islanders in scoring, posting 23 goals and 65 points after the trade.
New Jersey finished top four in goals for, goals against, on the powerplay and in shots against. That's a lot of impressive stats for the Islanders to go up against. New York has the talent to put up a good fight, but that atlent might be better served next year. New Jersey Devils in six.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Montreal Canadians- If anything, this series will at least generate the most smack talk of any during the first round, as two clubs who both can walk the walk and talk the talk square off.
In a season where it's very possible the fourth seeds in both conferences could see be deemed favorites to go the distance, the Pittsburgh Penguins are ready to try and reclaim their WCHL title. The last team to win the title before the Avalanche, the Penguins figure to be a strong threat to make it all the way again and despite finishing fourth in the conference, have a legitimate right to call themselves the best team in the conference behind only the Rangers after finishing with the second best goals for, goals against differential in the WCHL at +83.
Montreal has a lot of bragging right too though, including finishing tied with the Rangers for fewest goals against in the elague at 184. Even though they enter the playoffs with the second fewest goals scored among Eastern Conference playoff squads, the Canadains did add to their offense by picking up 27 goal scorer Kyle Okposo from the Nashville Predators. An interesting mixture of old and young, the Habs hope the youthful flare of players like Alex Pieterangelo will jive well with the expereince of guys like Daniel Alfredsson to move them into their first lengthy playoff run in many years.
Once again, the Penguins are tasked with seeing if their high powered offense, which finished second in the elague in scoring, can solve an elite netminder, this time in Jonathon Quick. A likely Vezina Trophy finalist, Quick is the backbone to a stingy Canadians defense and could be what is able to slowdown the Penguins juggernaut who look poised to try for yet another deep playoff push. It will be close, but expect Pittsburgh to prevail...barely. Pittsburgh Penguins in seven.
ACHL Predictions:
Western Conference
(1) Abbotsford vs. (8) Lake Erie- Abbotsford in five
(2) Manchester vs. (7) Milwaukee- Milwaukee in seven
(3) Peoria vs. (6) Syracuse- Peoria in five
(4) Houston vs. (5) Chicago- Houston in seven
Eastern Conference
(1) Albany vs. (8) Adirondack -Albany in five
(2) Hershey vs. (7) Bridgeport- Hershey in four
(3) Conneticut vs. (6) Binghampton- Conneticut in five
(4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs. (5) Norfolk- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in six
Is one more in the cards for Colorado?
In a league which shows a great deal of parity, especially amongst the top tier of teams, repeating as cup champion in back-to-back years is no easy task. In the 14 seasons of the WCHL, only the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche have ever done it.
Colorado is coming off of those two straight titles looking for a third. While San jose came very close to three-peating, no team in WCHL history has ever claimed three straight WCHL Cups. Colorado will take their stab at it starting tonight, when they host the Nashville Predators at the Pepsi Center.
"This is what this season has been all about," said General Manager Ryan McClanahan. "The regular season was important for sure, but we're all about success in the playoffs. Winning every game in the regualr season is meaningless to me unless we win the Cup also. We want that trophy."
While it is expected they will get through the upstart Predators, the road to a third straight title could be very forboding, especially when one looks at the Eastern Conference, where every team reached 100 points this year, topped by the New York Rangers who finished with 126. Expect lot of heated battles all the way through the conference, and possibly the lone way a team from the once-dominant Western Conference wins the title this year is if the East literally beats itself up on te way there.
Below are my predictions for the first round of the WCHL Playoffs:
Western Conference
(1) Calgary Flames vs. (8) Columbus Blue Jackets- In a rematch from the second round last year, the Flames look to propel themselves to a lengthy playoff run at the expense of the Blue Jackets.
For the Flames, the past three seasons have been largely a disappointment in the post-season. After going the distance in Season 11, the Flames have been unable to reclaim all of that playoff magic despite a very talented roster. Last year was the most successful of the three but also the most painful, blowing a 2-0 series lead to the Avalanche in the conference finals and losing 4-2. Now the Flames are looking to use their very strong regular season as a push towards their second WCHL title. Led my the likes of Mike Richards, Steven Stamkos and Cam Ward, they definately have the horses to get there.
Columbus meanwhile is back for their third straight playoffs, but a slight stumble at the end of the season seen them land on the wrong side of a three-way tie for sixth place, and set up a date with the Flames. While the Flames cruised past the Blue Jackets last year, overall Columbus has proven to be a tough out in the first round the past two years and pulled off the upset of the playoffs last year by besting the San Jose Sharks. Led by Jason Spezza, Claude Giroux and Seymon Varlamov, the Blue Jackets can do a lot of damage if they are clicking.
Columbus comes bearing the leagues third best powerplay in the regular season, but the Flames hold the edge in everything else, including the second-ranked penalty kill and third-ranked offense. Calgary appears to be just too solid all-around, and were the lone consistant team from start to finish in the Western Conference this year, as they clearly have their focus on the WCHL Cup this year. Columbus will put up a good fight as usual, but it won't be enough. Calgary Flames in six.
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Minnesota Wild- Once again, the San Jose Sharks find themselves against an upstart team just trying to prove they belong in the playoffs, and that's been a recipe for disaster for San Jose in the past.
The Sharks are trying hard to reclaim the glory of past years, where at one point they seemed to be unstoppable, claiming four cups in six seasons. It's been tough sledding though recently for San Jose, who have been tripped up in the first or second round to often, despite holding home ice advantage in every series they've played in in the Western Conference. They once again look to be the best team in this series, but best hasn't always prevailed for a Sharks team loaded with the likes of Jonathan Toews, Eric Staal and Zdeno Chara.
Minnesota is freshly returning to the post-season after a lengthy absence, and the retooling done by GM Alex Tanev is paying off. The last team in the WCHL to clinch a post-season berth, the Wild actually took a late season charge that carried them to seventh and a date with the Sharks, and they are hoping that performance carries over to the playoffs. The wild card in all of this could be Jaromir Jagr, who after spending the season with the Montreal Canadiens, found himself in a whirlwind of activity and came to the Wild via waivers after a brief passover in Washington. It's unclear if he has much left in the tank, but the experience and leadership Jagr could provide may provide a huge boost for a Wild offense that ranks deadlast in goals amongst playoff-bound teams.
The first two games of this series will likely be the telling point of the series. San Jose needs to establish dominance early and often, or they risk once again allowing a perceived weaker team gaining an upperhand on them. The Wild upgraded their offense down the stretch with Jagr and a trade for Justin Williams, but it is the Sharks who on paper should win this series. Expect the special teams to play a huge role in this series, as the Sharks and Wild were the two most penalized teams in the league for clubs that made the post-season. San Jose Sharks in six.
(3) Los Angeles Kings vs. (6) Detroit Red Wings- In an unlikely match up, two revamped teams had surprisingly strong seasons, leading to post-season berths. But only one is guaranteed to make it past the opening round.
For the Kings, it's been a season of success. After barely making the playoffs last year, the Kings roared out of the gates early and held their pace for much of the season, nearly snatching the Smythe Division title away from the San Jose Sharks in the process. Only a five game winning streak to close out the season allowed San Jose to maintain control of the division. The Kings are one of the oldest teams in the playoffs, but with the likes of Tim Thomas, Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Carter, they have the ability to make opponents pay, both with talent and experience.
Detroit at one point sat in fourth place in the conference, but a downward slide hurt them in the second half. Despite this, the Wings are also looking to use expereince to their benefit in this match up, with the elderly duo of Evgeni Nabokov and Nikolai Khabibulin in net, with forwards like Alex Burrows, Michael Ryder and Danius Zubrus also pushing the team forward, both with talent and age. It will be interesting to see who has anything left in tank from a club with only one regular -Kyle Cuminsky- under the age of 28.
This series could be all about who has the most left in the tank. While expereince is important at this time of year, for your older players so is rest, and both teams have ridden some of their veteran players hard down the stretch. Los Angeles figures to have an overall adge in talent, but where things could get interesting is on the powerplay, where the Wings second-best powerplay during the regularseason will match up against a Kings defense that is now without Jay Bouwmeester. Still, Los Angeles should prevail but don't expect it to be easy. Los Angeles Kings in seven.
(4) Colorado Avalanche vs. (5) Nashville Predators- The season is just now beginning for the Avalanche, while in Nashville some fans are trying to figure out why the team is still playing.
For Colorado, this is just another season of seasons filled largely with high playoff expectations. After years of failing to claim the top prize, Colorado did it twice in a row and now fans are holding their collective breath in anticipation of a possible three-peat; the first in WCHL history. It will be different this year though, as the club hopes to do it without the services of long-time leader Niklas Lidstrom, who retired last season. The absence has been felt by the Avalanche, who struggled for a while and were even outside of the playoff picture just after the mid-season mark before rallying down the stretch. Now it's time to see what this club is really made of.
In Nashville however, this season mrks the first for the Predators to ctually make the playoffs. After years of futility, the club was able to ride a strong first half and a weak conference into the second season. Expected by many to be a likely non-factor again this year, several trades for veterans such as Roberto Luongo, Mike Green and Alexander Steen helped propel the Predators into the playoffs and give them a chance to be the first team in over two years to best the Avalanche in a best-of-seven series.
The Predators finished with the leagues sixth ranked powerplay, but Colorado figures to match up against that well with the fourth ranked penalty kill. All in all, the Avalanche figure to have an edge over the Predators in virtually every area, so it will just be a matter of whether or not Ilya Bryzgalov will show up in the post-seson. If he doesn,'t, Nashville could have the edge given they have a great goaltender of their own in net; Roberto Luongo. Expect Bryzgalov to show up enough to make a difference, but the fact the Predators ranked second in the lague in hits per game -and most among teams to reach the playoffs- means they will leave a mark on the Avs at least. Colorado Avalanche in six.
Eastern Conference
(1) New York Rangers vs. (8) Tampa Bay Lightning- The New York Rangers are hoping its a case of third times the charm, which Tampa Bay is just excited to be here as two clubs at different ends of a rebuild face off.
The Rangers actual rebuild ended long again, but they are still aiming for their first WCHL Cup. After getting swept by the Flames in the finals in Season 11, the Rangers returned to the finals last year, only to to fall once again, this time to the Avalanche. After an amazing regular season that seen the Rangers capture the Presidents Trophy with a 59-win, 126-point season, the Rangers are hoping this is finally the year they go the distance. Long time Ranger leads Anze Kopitar, Stephen Weiss and Henrik Lundqvist, all of whom are likley to be involved in discussions during awards time as well, also hope this is finally the year they can stop answering questions about when they will finally go the distance.
Tampa Bay on the other hand is just glas they can stop answering questions about when they will make the playoffs again. A strong start catapulted the Lighting to a 45-win, 100-point season, the first of both for the club in WCHL history. Unfortunately for them, they did in a season when the entire Eastern Confeence light the league up like a Christmas tree and those 100 points were only good enough for eighth place and a date with the Rangers juggernaut.
To get a picture of just how good the Rangers were this year, the Lightning ranked eighth best in the WCHL in terms of goals for versus goals against with a +42. Despite this, the Rangers allowed 27 fewer goals against than Tampa Bay, while scoring 37 more goals, giving them a +106 goal differential, by far best in the league. The Rangers also ranked 1st in both goals for and goals against. Needless to say, the Lightning have their work cut out for them. New York Rangers in five.
(2) Ottawa Senators vs. (7) Buffalo Sabres- A year ago it seemed unlikely the Ottawa Seantors would be hosting a playoff series, but a confident run through the Adams Division shows the Senators are indeed on the right path.
Despite a dramatic trade involving the former face of the franchise in Matt Duchene, the Ottawa Senators rode a great regular season into a divisional crown and a post-season berth this year, another clear step forward for a club which has made several big strides in recent years. Bobby Ryan -who was just added at the trade deadline- Milan Michalek and Ilya Kovalchuk have ingited a Senators offense and guided them to a 55 win season and a top seed in an overly competitive Eastern Conference.
Oddly enough, Buffalo should feel more entitled to the second seed in the division than Ottawa. While scoring the exact same number of goals as Ottawa during the regular season -264- the Sabres also allowed 25 fewer goals against than the Senators. In fact, until a stumble down the stretch in which they went 3-6-1 in their final 10 games, the Sabres actually had abetter record than the Senators as well. As such, this should be a very interesting series.
The fact Buffalo ranked fourth in the league in goals against average and tops on the powerplay should bode well for them, but Ottawa is a more physical team and have proven to be better during five-on-five play, so this series could be down to the wire. Buffalo Sabres in seven.
(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) New York Islanders- Two teams going in opposite directions face off in this talent loaded first round match up that is all about one big trade between the two clubs.
The New Jersey Devils are proof that one trade can make all the difference. A team most figured would only maybe make the playoffs at the start of the season as they were undergoing a mini-rebuild, the Devils swung a huge trade with, of all teams, the Islanders at the start of the season, picking up stars like Kari Lehtonen and Jarome Iginla for a package of mostly younger players led by T.J. Oshie. That trade led to the Devils going on a remarkable run and nearly catching the Rangers for top spot in the WCHL. A 58-win, 121 point season and huge hopes came largely as a result of that one trade.
Meanwhile, the New York Islanders now have to be wondering what if that hadn't made that deal. While still posting a respectable season, reaching 109 points, the Islanders certainly would have done a lot better this year with those players, especially Iginla, in the line up, not to mention now they ahve to try and beat them in the playoffs. Still, New York did add some talent for the future while Iginla is slated to be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Oshie ended up leading the Islanders in scoring, posting 23 goals and 65 points after the trade.
New Jersey finished top four in goals for, goals against, on the powerplay and in shots against. That's a lot of impressive stats for the Islanders to go up against. New York has the talent to put up a good fight, but that atlent might be better served next year. New Jersey Devils in six.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Montreal Canadians- If anything, this series will at least generate the most smack talk of any during the first round, as two clubs who both can walk the walk and talk the talk square off.
In a season where it's very possible the fourth seeds in both conferences could see be deemed favorites to go the distance, the Pittsburgh Penguins are ready to try and reclaim their WCHL title. The last team to win the title before the Avalanche, the Penguins figure to be a strong threat to make it all the way again and despite finishing fourth in the conference, have a legitimate right to call themselves the best team in the conference behind only the Rangers after finishing with the second best goals for, goals against differential in the WCHL at +83.
Montreal has a lot of bragging right too though, including finishing tied with the Rangers for fewest goals against in the elague at 184. Even though they enter the playoffs with the second fewest goals scored among Eastern Conference playoff squads, the Canadains did add to their offense by picking up 27 goal scorer Kyle Okposo from the Nashville Predators. An interesting mixture of old and young, the Habs hope the youthful flare of players like Alex Pieterangelo will jive well with the expereince of guys like Daniel Alfredsson to move them into their first lengthy playoff run in many years.
Once again, the Penguins are tasked with seeing if their high powered offense, which finished second in the elague in scoring, can solve an elite netminder, this time in Jonathon Quick. A likely Vezina Trophy finalist, Quick is the backbone to a stingy Canadians defense and could be what is able to slowdown the Penguins juggernaut who look poised to try for yet another deep playoff push. It will be close, but expect Pittsburgh to prevail...barely. Pittsburgh Penguins in seven.
ACHL Predictions:
Western Conference
(1) Abbotsford vs. (8) Lake Erie- Abbotsford in five
(2) Manchester vs. (7) Milwaukee- Milwaukee in seven
(3) Peoria vs. (6) Syracuse- Peoria in five
(4) Houston vs. (5) Chicago- Houston in seven
Eastern Conference
(1) Albany vs. (8) Adirondack -Albany in five
(2) Hershey vs. (7) Bridgeport- Hershey in four
(3) Conneticut vs. (6) Binghampton- Conneticut in five
(4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs. (5) Norfolk- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in six
