The NHL Playoffs have arrived. The CS staff is pleased to present you with a preview , a couple of keys to the series, and Sean Keenan’s prediction of the winner and MVP of each series
Boston starts it’s cup defense at home against a Washington team that had a rough regular season. Boston was up and down this year, and Tim Thomas didn’t exactly put up Vezina numbers, but with 102 points it’s hard to argue with the results. Zeno Chara is nuts. He is the frontrunner for the Norris this year and for good reason. 52 points and a plus 33 is a great season. Nobody on Boston cracked 70 points this season, which is more a testament to their overall team depth, rather than lack of a superstar. Seguin was closest with 67 in his sophomore campaign, and he is a budding star, but when your leading scorer only has 67 points and you are second in the league in goals for your team is deeeeeeeeep. The Bruins are kind of just hanging around under the radar, and that’s the way they like it.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Ez37YFcpU[/youtube]
Washington got into the playoffs after Game 81, and really because Ovechkin (CLICK IT, TRUST ME) woke up, and Ryan Miller couldn’t carry Buffalo all the way back up the mountain. The Caps come in having won 4 of 5, including a win in Boston, and points in 8 of 10. It couldn’t have happened at a better time too, because they were in trouble. Nik Backstrom is back, which is key because he is a catalyst for the Capitals. It looks like Braden Holtby is the guy in net for Washington. He gets the reins after starting just 6 games this season, taking over for an injured? Tomas Vokoun. Vokoun was billed as the signing of the year back in the summer because the Caps got him for cheap. The theory was that he was good behind a bad team in Florida so he should be great behind a good team in Washington. Theory is a funny thing…
Keys:
Holtby. Lets see if he stands up to the test.
Ovi. Is he a playoff choker like Joe Thorton, or is he something else. Leaning toward Jumbo Joe, but the jury is still out.
Prediction: Boston in 5. Playoff time in Washington consists of a playoff swan song. Also, Caps goalie situation is worse than Chicago’s
MVP Chara
