Canadiens VS Penguins

Ok, we are back with our predictions for this round, Habs and Pens. Take it away Frenchy!

VS

Frenchy
Alright, this one is going to be easy. Let me start off by giving a lot of praise to the Canadiens. What they did to the Capitals was un-freaking-believable!! Not only did they beat the best team in the NHL but they did it coming back from a 3-1 deficit. That’s quite an accomplishment. Bad news for the Canadiens now is that their prize for playing so well in the first round …. a series against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

I’m a huge Penguins fan and yes, I’m a huge Crosby fan! After the first round he had, nobody can say that Crosby can’t do it all. It’s going to be pretty hard for him to keep on his ridiculous pace but he will still show up and play amazing against the Habs. That’s just what he does. I don’t believe the Habs have enough depth in their team to compete against a team like the Penguins. Yes, they beat the Caps, but I’ve said all along that the first team that they would face with a good defense would be the end of them. The only way the Caps can win is when they score 5-6 goals because that’s how many the other teams can score on them. It’s going to be a different story versus the Pens. They have some of the best scorers in the world, Crosby and Malkin, their third line is one of the best in the NHL and watch out for Max Talbot on the fourth line, the guy is a machine in the playoffs.

As for the Habs, the whole series is going to rest on Halak’s shoulders and the guys in front of him. Hal Gill and the other defensemen were insane in the first round but the problem is the Caps had one good line but it’s a whole different story here. They only have a few good players to score goals but no real pure goal scorer and that’s going to hurt them in the long run. As soon as Halak starts playing like a human being again, it’s going to get ugly.

The Pens have 4 good lines. To be honest, Crosby’s line isn’t even that good; Guerin and Kunitz aren’t at the same level as him. But with Crosby centering that line, it doesn’t really matter and watch out when Bylsma puts Sid the Kid and Malkin. Game over!

I know From the Point is saying Montreal will win it in five but I’ve seen him play with chemicals all day, I think that affected his judgment quite a bit, that’s the only explanation for his crazy prediction!

Penguins in 5.

From the Point
Hal Gill knows a thing or two about the Pens offence, and about Sid Crosby. I have no doubt that Gill will be the guy that is tasked with shutting down The Kid. He did it very effectively against thye GREAT Alexander Ovechkin. He can do it to Sid too. And Sid has less scoring help than Ovie had. It’s possible that Crosby may try to do too much and that could play right into the Canadiens hands.

Do I really think the Canadiens can beat the Pens in this series? Hell, yes! You might think I’m forced to argue the other side here because of Frenchy’s love of Sid the Kid that borders on the freaky! Look at all that verbiage (garbage) up there! Ridiculous! The guy has NO objectivity. None.

Marc-Andrea Fleury’s goaltending in the first series was good enough to win. But it wasn’t really very good. In fact his 2.75 GAA and 0.890 SV% is well below that of Jaroslav Halak. The 2.75 GAA is one of the highest of the remaining goalies and the 0.890 SV% is THE worst of the remaining goalies if you dismiss the 0.857 SV% of Vancouver backup, Andrew Raycroft. Feel free to dismiss Razor, we in Denver have.

Halak’s 2.46 GAA is middle of the pack but his 0.939 SV% is second only to Boucher. The playoffs is about goaltending, just ask the Capitals. So the Flower is going to need to start playing a better game to get the Pens on through to the next round. Crosby can’t do it all.

Now Halak has practically outdone Craig Anderson in the statistically unsustainable backstopping performances against the Caps. And I won’t argue that it can go on forever. It can’t. But I do think it can go on long enough that if Montreal can keep this contest to 5 or 6 games, they can do this. No really!

Montreal in five.

Hello Tears - Goodbye Playoff Beard

The tears have barely stopped flowing since the second empty- netter last night, just a really emotional time for me.  My stomach muscles hurt from sobbing myself to sleep. 
Some how I've pulled it together long enough to get a post up and even managed to shave the beard.
Here's a little playoff beard before and after photo shoot.  I'm pretty disappointed that it's time to shave it off.  For the obvious reasons but also because I was starting to get into the caveman look.  Gooseberry however, is quite happy that it is gone.

First the Before (notice the awesome Avs hat I got Lappy to sign)

Oh, and here's an intermediate shot.  The soul patch.  Always wanted one of those.  Probably just because Stevie Ray Vaughan used to sport one.  Mueller looks like he can wear one well enough, but I'm not kidding myself.  It lasted all of 10 minutes.

And now the After

Now that the Avs are out (sniff) I'm throwing in with the Hawks.  This is no doubt shocking news to many, especially Gooseberry, that I am willing to overlook Mr. Mustache and his evil ways to root for this team.  I could say that it's because I have family in Chicago and it's a good young team with good guys and fun to watch. 

But that really doesn't have anything to do with it.  It's the phenomenal goaltending I've seen all year, the brilliant coaching and of course Marian Hossa.  He's won everywhere he's ever played.  I can't miss!  And look, who doesn't love the team name and mascot?  A Blackhawk?  Awesome.  Know what else Stevie Ray Vaughan wore well besides a soul patch?  An Indian headdress!  Yeah, nothing cooler than a full headdress and a soul patch.  I'm amazed ALL Hawks fans are not dressed in a war bonnet for every game!

Since the Hawks aren't "my team" I feel zero responsibility to be objective or represent the intelligent or balanced fan.  No way buddy!  I'm a 100% bandwagon fan.  I have no idea who Cain and Taze are, are they brothers?!  So as the Hawks blaze through the playoffs I assure you that I will be providing hyperbole-laced bull crap like any good bandwagoner should! 

Of course Frenchy will also be appalled by my lack of Sid-love.  Whatever dude.  Ovie rocks!  Imagine the Caps and the Hawks in the Finals, the goalies would be so ragged by then it will be a score-fest to rival spring break in Cancun.

Oh, and bad news Goosey - I'm starting my Hawks playoff beard right ... NOW!

-From the Point

NHL Awards

I thought I would give my predictions about who’s going to be in the running for each award and who’s going to win the hardware. Keep in mind that I’m one of the top scorers in D2 league hockey, so I know what I’m talking about, believe me!!!

Hart Trophy
Sidney Crosby
Henrik Sedin
Alex Ovechkin

Winner: Sidney Crosby

What he did this season with the players around him makes him the winner. Sedin and Ovie are great players but they had more support from their line mates than Crosby did. Who did he play with all season??? Kunitz, Guerin, Dupuis. He really stepped it up because I think he felt he didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

Vezina Trophy
Martin Brodeur
Ryan Miller
Ilya Bryzgalov

Winner: Ryan Miller

Man did he ever elevate his game this season. Of course the other two candidates were great but Miller was outstanding the whole season. I know it doesn’t count but his performance in the Olympics was just brilliant.

Norris trophy
Duncan Keith
Mike Green
Drew Doughty

Winner: Mike Green

His plus minus was great plus no other defense put up the number he did. His absence from the Canadian Olympic team was a bit odd if you ask me but if he keeps playing like this, he’ll definitely be at the next one (assuming NHL players can play).

Calder Trophy
Tyler Myers
Tuukka Rask
Matt Duchene

Winner: Matt Duchene

He started off a bit slow but he picked up his game towards the end there. He became a huge asset for the Avs. Seeing how hard he works in the corner and behind the net, just makes watching him fun. He’s going to have a bright career in the NHL.

Frank Selke Trophy
Jordan Staal
Pavel Datsyuk
Patrick Marleau

Winner: Jordan Staal

He had a great year. I thought by now he would be putting up bigger numbers but that’s not really what he brings to the team. Every time Dan Bylsma chooses the match ups, he puts Staal against the opposing teams best line. That’s saying a lot about the trust he puts in Staal.

Jack Adams Award
Joe Sacco
Dave Tippett
Mike Babcock

Winner: Dave Tippett

Do I really need to explain this one! The Coyotes finished with over 100 points. Trust me, nobody saw that coming and this makes him the easy winner.

I know I forgot a few trophies here but I mentioned the ones I knew my hockey expertise would help me.

-Frenchy

Five for Fighting Monday

Last year David Koci was with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Today the Colorado Avalanche will play the Bolts, but the subject of Five for Fighting Monday is the game later in the week. The Pittsburgh Penguins. David Koci fought a member of the Pens 5 times last season. Paul Bissonnette twice in one preseason game and Eric Godard on three different occasions. Here is the bout from the preseason, I chose this one because it got the highest rating at HockeyFights.com. Frankly, looking through Koci's fight log you don't see many wins. I guess you could say he holds his own as often as not and that's about it.

It's odd to see Koci wearing 33, obviously that had to go when he came to Denver, looks like it could be his number of choice since I saw him wearing it on a couple different teams, maybe he wanted to be a goalie?
The Pitts game is the halfway point of the road trip. If the Avs are sucking maybe we will see that old tough guy, Marek "Slugger" Svatos throw down with Sidney Crosby! They are about the same size and it might be pretty entertaining! Ok, let's make it a two-fer today and watch Marek Svatos and Claude Giroux from last Monday. They drop the gloves in what was a surprise for fans and announcers alike! Watch for Chris Stewart at about the 20 second mark bangin' his stick on the boards. And the replay is worth watching because at 57 seconds you can see Svatos nod his head in an invitation to go.

You've got to give Slugger some credit for that one. He had been frustrated and I think it righted his ship for a bit. But obviously he can't (and won't) do that every other game to get himself fired up. Of note is several reports that that was his first fight ever, even according to Svats himself. Nonetheless, HockeyFights.com lists two more back in the day, but no video. Too bad.
Enjoy your Monday, enjoy your week and remember, if the week gets tough...throw down!

-From the Point