NHL: Second Round Predictions

Second Round Playoff Predictions – By Drew Pepin, feature NHL writer

Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens

One of the best rivalries in professional sports will be renewed, as Boston and Montreal will butt heads in this big quarterfinal matchup. Two of the best goaltenders in the league go head to head with Tuukka Rask and Carey Price. As far as I’m concerned, the Canadiens will go as far as Carey Price takes them. The Bruins are a much better 5-on-5 team than Montreal, and the only way I see the Habs advancing is if Price plays out of his mind. Montreal has a solid offensive core with players such as Max Pacioretty, Thomas Vanek, Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher leading the way. With PK Subban fronting the defensive unit, I think the Canadiens could give the Bruins fits in this series with their speed and skill, but I just think the Bruins have too much depth/top end players to lose this series. Milan Lucic will be relentlessly attacking Montreal’s defenseman all series, and Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Jerome Iginla will put goals on the board for the Bruins. That being said, I’ll take Boston moving on.

Bruins in 6

Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers

This series has a lot of players to keep an eye on. The most obvious being Marc-Andre Fleury, who is known for poor playoff performances. He had an okay series against Columbus, who pushed them to 6 games, and nearly a game 7. Watch for Fleury to have his usual post-season breakdown at some point in this series. Another player to watch is Sidney Crosby. He’s been held without a goal in 12 straight post-season games. If the Penguins have any chance of advancing past the Rangers, they’re going to need the world’s best player to step it up. The Rangers have their own issues as well, as Rick Nash hasn’t been producing to what we’ve come to expect from one of the league’s best players. While I think the Rangers have the better goalie in Henrik Lundqvist, you have to assume Sidney Crosby will figure it out at some point. I have the Penguins slipping past the Rangers in a back-and-forth series.

Penguins in 7

Chicago Blackhawks vs Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild are fresh off a huge upset against the Colorado Avalanche. I think their momentum will carry into this series, making it difficult for Chicago to beat them as easily as they did in last year’s playoffs . Chicago has the better players from top to bottom, with Patrick Kane and Jonathon Toews leading their plethora of forwards. The Wild will need their best player, Zach Parise, to be huge in this series if they want to get past the defending champs. The biggest concern for the Wild is injured goaltender Darcy Kuemper. While he should return at some point this season, they have to go with their lesser netminder Ilya Bryzgalov until then. If Bryz is expected to start most of the games for the Wild, I don’t see them getting past the Blackhawks. I’ll take the defending champs in this one, but won’t be as easy as some people think.

Blackhawks in 6

Los Angeles Kings vs Anaheim Ducks

This series will be fun to watch from start to finish. These two heavy-hitting teams will put on a show for NHL fans everywhere, and I think this series will go seven tough games. Jonathon Quick turned his play around after falling down 3-0 to San Jose, and showed us all once again why he is one of the best goaltenders in the world. Anze Kopitar stepped his game up as well, leading the kings to four straight wins against the Sharks. Drew Doughty anchors a strong defensive core in LA, but I think the Ducks will be able to find some holes. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry continue to amaze us as they carry the Ducks offensive core, but I think the weakness at goaltending for Anaheim could be the reason they fall. I have LA moving on in this one.

Kings in 7

Drew went 5-8 in his first round picks. See his article on the first round playoffs here. ( http://thesportsframe.blogspot.com/2014/04/nhl-first-round-predictions.html )