Oilers aim to grease up the WCHL playoffs
An Oilers forward celebrates against the Avalanche, only at the end realizing the team now has to face the Presidents Trophy winning Anaheim Ducks.
Reading the script of who is in the third round, it's obvious one team stands out.
The Anaheim Ducks? Hardly, they did claim the Presidents Trophy after all.
Pittsburgh Penguins? Top team in the Eastern Conference.
New York Rangers? Two-time defending WCHL Cup champion. Enough said.
Edmonton Oilers? Umm.... what?
Yes, the Edmonton Oilers are bucking the odds, and are the only team that didn't finish in the top five in total points. In fact, the Oilers barely finished fifth in their own conference. For them to make the third round involved bucking a higher seed and a top end contender, including the Minnesota Wild in round one, after the Wild had amassed a 3-1 series lead, and the Colorado Avalanche, a perrenial WCHL Cup contender who had a 2-0 series lead. Do the Oilers have it in them to better another team that in one way or another -or several- is better than them on paper? If they are able too, it'll be the tallest task they've faced to date.
Below are my predictions for round three:
Western Conference
(1) Anaheim Ducks vs (5) Edmonton Oilers- The Ducks have ran the gambit those far in the WCHL, claiming top spot in the league and pushing through the first two rounds with not much competition in the process. The Calgary Flames did, in round two, give the Ducks a bit of a push, but Anaheim stayed one step ahead all the way and eventually extinguished the Flames in six games. For a team that has made a habit of making things look easier than they should be this season, the Oilers could prove to be an easy challnge for Anaheim.
For the Oilers meanwhile, they have proven to be anything but easy. Rallying from two games down in both series, the Oilers have bent, but didn't come close to breaking, simply getting better as the series rolled along. Falling behind by two games to the Ducks might be much more difficult to rally from than the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche.
The Oilers can't flirt with disaster a third straight series and get away with it...can they? Anaheim Ducks in five games.
Eastern Conference
(1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (3) New York Rangers- In recent years, the Penguins have followed up great seasons with great big stinkers in the playoffs, but this year is not following that script. The Penguins knocked off a pesky Lightning squad in six games and then dispatched the Ottawa Senators with surprising easy in round two, showing that they can play to their level, and not the level of the opposition. With the Senators for example, they were the third stingiest team in the WCHL in regular season -allowing well under two goals against per game along the way- and only allowed five goals in five games against the Carolina Hurricanes in round one. Pittsburgh however rattled off 17 goals in five games to dispose of Ottawa.
The Rangers meanwhile have made it look very hard this post-season. Coming in as the two-time defending WCHL Cup champions and allowing a league low 139 goals against, the Rangers barely snuck by the 6th seeded Washington Capitals and the 5th seeded Philadelphia Flyers, needing seven games both times just to advance. Doing that against lower seeded teams is one thing, but a juggernaut like Pittsburgh has is another. Pittsburgh finished with by far the most goals scored in the entire Eastern Conference, so if New York can't get their offense rolling, they could be done in in short order. The Rangers have outscored their opponent 30-29 in 14 games, needing to win three of four overtime games along the way to just get this far. That's a lot of smoke and mirrors for a very talented and deep squad.
If the Rangers don't get busy scoring, they'll get busy packing. Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
ACHL
Western Conference
(3) Portland Pirates vs (4) Manchester Monarchs - Manchester in six games
Eastern Conference
(1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs (2) Hershey Bears - Hershey in seven games
An Oilers forward celebrates against the Avalanche, only at the end realizing the team now has to face the Presidents Trophy winning Anaheim Ducks.
Reading the script of who is in the third round, it's obvious one team stands out.
The Anaheim Ducks? Hardly, they did claim the Presidents Trophy after all.
Pittsburgh Penguins? Top team in the Eastern Conference.
New York Rangers? Two-time defending WCHL Cup champion. Enough said.
Edmonton Oilers? Umm.... what?
Yes, the Edmonton Oilers are bucking the odds, and are the only team that didn't finish in the top five in total points. In fact, the Oilers barely finished fifth in their own conference. For them to make the third round involved bucking a higher seed and a top end contender, including the Minnesota Wild in round one, after the Wild had amassed a 3-1 series lead, and the Colorado Avalanche, a perrenial WCHL Cup contender who had a 2-0 series lead. Do the Oilers have it in them to better another team that in one way or another -or several- is better than them on paper? If they are able too, it'll be the tallest task they've faced to date.
Below are my predictions for round three:
Western Conference
(1) Anaheim Ducks vs (5) Edmonton Oilers- The Ducks have ran the gambit those far in the WCHL, claiming top spot in the league and pushing through the first two rounds with not much competition in the process. The Calgary Flames did, in round two, give the Ducks a bit of a push, but Anaheim stayed one step ahead all the way and eventually extinguished the Flames in six games. For a team that has made a habit of making things look easier than they should be this season, the Oilers could prove to be an easy challnge for Anaheim.
For the Oilers meanwhile, they have proven to be anything but easy. Rallying from two games down in both series, the Oilers have bent, but didn't come close to breaking, simply getting better as the series rolled along. Falling behind by two games to the Ducks might be much more difficult to rally from than the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche.
The Oilers can't flirt with disaster a third straight series and get away with it...can they? Anaheim Ducks in five games.
Eastern Conference
(1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (3) New York Rangers- In recent years, the Penguins have followed up great seasons with great big stinkers in the playoffs, but this year is not following that script. The Penguins knocked off a pesky Lightning squad in six games and then dispatched the Ottawa Senators with surprising easy in round two, showing that they can play to their level, and not the level of the opposition. With the Senators for example, they were the third stingiest team in the WCHL in regular season -allowing well under two goals against per game along the way- and only allowed five goals in five games against the Carolina Hurricanes in round one. Pittsburgh however rattled off 17 goals in five games to dispose of Ottawa.
The Rangers meanwhile have made it look very hard this post-season. Coming in as the two-time defending WCHL Cup champions and allowing a league low 139 goals against, the Rangers barely snuck by the 6th seeded Washington Capitals and the 5th seeded Philadelphia Flyers, needing seven games both times just to advance. Doing that against lower seeded teams is one thing, but a juggernaut like Pittsburgh has is another. Pittsburgh finished with by far the most goals scored in the entire Eastern Conference, so if New York can't get their offense rolling, they could be done in in short order. The Rangers have outscored their opponent 30-29 in 14 games, needing to win three of four overtime games along the way to just get this far. That's a lot of smoke and mirrors for a very talented and deep squad.
If the Rangers don't get busy scoring, they'll get busy packing. Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
ACHL
Western Conference
(3) Portland Pirates vs (4) Manchester Monarchs - Manchester in six games
Eastern Conference
(1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs (2) Hershey Bears - Hershey in seven games
