The last week, for some of us it begins the forming of a true brotherhood where fans, players, and cities alike come together under the banner of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's also a time for all of us to reflect on some of the highlights from the 2011-2012 Regular Season, like the Ducks's re-enactment of the '10-'11 Devils, Stamkos still pushing for 60, Florida a point away from making it back into the playoffs after a 12 year drought, and the Maple Leafs, with another joke of a season. While the West still has a lot of seeding to sort out, the East is just about ready to get the playoffs started, even with 4 more days of the regular season to go.
Eastern Conference
Even though teams are a lot more settled than the west, there's a lot needed to be done in the rest of the week to get teams ready and fired up for the first round.
- New York Rangers = Locked in the first seed in the East, they have their eyes on the President's Trophy. With games against Pit and Washington, those 4 points may not be as easy as Vancouver's. Saturday's game vs Washington could possibly decide the Ranger's first round opponent if the all of the right cards fall for Buffalo.
- Boston Bruins = Locked in second, the Bruins have a game against their probably first round opponent Senators and Buffalo, which again has the slim chance to be a do or die game for Buffalo. Thursday's game will set the stage for next week, though, and with Boychuk still up in the air and a question mark for Thomas's backup in the playoffs, Boston needs to make sure they can bring their A+ game next week.
- Florida Panthers = They can't seem to put the lock on the 3rd seed just yet, but Thursday will be the true test, against the team fighting for that seed, the Caps. A finale vs the Hurricanes rounds out their regular season, and then the biggest surprise of this year's playoffs will most likely take on the Devils and Pete DeBoer.
- Pittsburgh Penguins = Concussions are not the Penguins' biggest worry anymore! They've taken a back seat to the Philadelphia Flyers, who seem to be in the Penguins' heads these days. Division matchups against the Rangers and Flyers will be sure to keep the Pens on their toes through the playoffs, where we may see one of the best 1st round series this year.
- Philadelphia Flyers = Can drive the nail in nail in the coffin for Buffalo, then start a possible 8 game series versus Pittsburgh on Saturday. A continuously hurt defense will cause them problems, but if Bryz can stay on top of his game, it'll be one hell of a series. There's always that slim chance that Philly and New Jersey switch seeds, but who doesn't want to see whats going to happen between Rinaldo and Asham?
- New Jersey Devils = It hasn't been a 12 year drought, but the Devils sure are glad to be back in the playoffs. Detroit and Ottawa means it won't be as big of a week for the Devils as some other teams, but they want to keep hot to take on the DeBoer's old team. Injuries to Josefson and Tallinder may stretch them a bit, and who remembers DeBoer vocalizing his want for a victory the first matchup of the year vs the Panthers, followed by the Devils blowing a 3-0 lead in the 3rd period? No one, probably, because who watches either team?
- Ottawa Senators = Not as big of a surprise as Florida, but definitely a big one. Spezza is on top of his game, and Karlsson has really become the superstar he was drafted to be. They have an "exhibition" match vs the Bruins on Thursday, followed by the Devils.
- Washington Captials = Here's where it gets fun... the Caps have a good lead over the Sabres for 8th, but can't seem to find much consistency. They have two big matchups vs the Panthers and their possible first round opponent Rangers, and really need to figure things out in net. They're finally healthy, so let's see if they can turn it on.
Outsider: The Buffalo Sabres had an amazing comeback against the Leafs on Tuesday night, and hope their luck continues this week. They have the Flyers and Bruins, two playoff bound teams, so there's a chance those teams may rest some starters (see: Tim Thomas). Washington has the tiebreaker, so in their 2 remaining games they need to edge Washington out with at least 1 more point.
No comments:
Post a Comment