Stanley Cup Playoffs: Stanley Cup Finals:
Chicago vs Philadelphia
And now, there are two
Amazing...I've picked Chicago in every series and I've picked every team to beat Philly, except Montreal.
Chicago won in four straight over San Jose. But every game was close. Chicago showed tremendous fortitude. They will probably need that in this series. Philly just keeps doing things that have so rarely been done in, not only hockey, but pro sports.
For Chicago, boy, has Toews (pronounced "Tays" by the way) been getting it done. He has now 26 points, including 19 assists in just 16 games. He keeps this up and he might have the best single season playoff assist total ever by someone not named Gretzky or Lemieux. And then you have Patrick Kane (who is also all of 21 years old) with 20 points. Continuing the onslaught is Sharp (16 points), Hossa (11 points), Byfuglien (8 goals. Alright, I admit, I don't know how to pronounce his name, even though I've heard it said 100 times this playoff alone), Bolland and Keith.
Keith, Seabrook and the continuing surprising Hjalmarsson, are manning the fort on defence. Seabrook is an impressive plus 8 in 16 games. And then their is the unsung defencemen on this team: Brent Sopel and Brian Campbell.
Niemi was tested against the Sharks, twice facing over 40 shots a game. This will be his first Stanley Cup Finals. Previous trips to the finals for the Hawks, in goal, were the following goalies:
1961 Glenn Hall (407 wins)
1971 Tony Esposito (423 wins)
1973 Tony Esposito (again)
1992 Eddie Belfour (484 wins)
2010 Antti Niemi (27 wins)
Kinda looks out of place, don't you think? But, of course, Niemi is far from finished his career. It's just he's not far removed from the beginning. Funny though, Hall played in a Stanley Cup final in his first full year (earlier in 1956 forDetroit), Esposito and Belfour in their second full year. So Niemi isn't so alone, after all! And one way or another, this playoff experience will be a huge experience to build on.
Philly, meanwhile...I gotta say this: This has got to be one if not the most amazing run to the Stanley Cup final, ever. Two original six teams set aside plus and excellent New Jersey. Injuries have been shrugged off, odds have been laughed at, and history has been made.
Whose making it? Leighton, the team itself, but more on that later.
Mike Richards continues to get it done when his teams it needs it. Now he has 21 points in 17 games and is a plus 6. Briere also continues his strong play with 18 points. Then you have the surprising Claude Giroux. A point a game and a plus 10! Simon Gagne is playing like he is unfazed by his injury. After returning in game 4 vs Boston, he went on a seven game point scoring streak. He's been held scoreless for the last two games...but look out in the final. Leino and Carle (10 points and a plus 8 for the defence) might be overlooked, but Chicago better not do that in the finale. Jeff Carter, by the way, returned for Flyers after missing 11 games and scored 2 goals in the clinching fifth game against Montreal. Fan favourite (and opponent pest) Daniel Carcillo once again proved to be one of the games best aggitators in that series against the Habs, so expect that to continue in the finals.
Defence, or should I say, "Offence"? The defencemen on this team are getting it done at both ends. Pronger's overall game (+/- wise), statistically, might be overshadowed by Carle, but he's still got 14 points in 17 games. Also to pay attention to: Timonen. Like Carle, he's looking for his first goal of the playoffs, but he now has 8 points and a plus 6. Brandon Coburn is a plus 7.
As for goaltending, Leighton set a Flyers record for most shutouts in in one series with three against Montreal. Throw away game three of that series and he allowed 2 goals in 4 games! He seems to be getting better with every series and maybe every game. He will be tested severely by Chicago. Boucher is apparently going to be available for game 1 of this series, although it is quite likely he won't be playing, at least starting. He's been great, too. But the long layoff might hurt him. Hard to stay on a roll when you're injured.
Chicago in the finals has more guys comming in 100%. Gagne, Carter, Lapierriere (Boucher, too if he plays) are comming in less than that. But even with a fully healthy Flyers, I just feel it's Chicago, with their depth, and road play (they've won seven games on the road in this years playoffs) that make me feel they've got this series. They're going for their first Cup since 1961, and right now I can't see anyone stopping them.
Prediction: Chicago in six games.
References
"Official Site Of The National Hockey League." NHL.com. The National Hockey League, n.d. Web. 06 June. 2010. <http://www.nhl.com/>
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 06 June. 2010.
Chicago vs Philadelphia
And now, there are two
Amazing...I've picked Chicago in every series and I've picked every team to beat Philly, except Montreal.
Chicago won in four straight over San Jose. But every game was close. Chicago showed tremendous fortitude. They will probably need that in this series. Philly just keeps doing things that have so rarely been done in, not only hockey, but pro sports.
For Chicago, boy, has Toews (pronounced "Tays" by the way) been getting it done. He has now 26 points, including 19 assists in just 16 games. He keeps this up and he might have the best single season playoff assist total ever by someone not named Gretzky or Lemieux. And then you have Patrick Kane (who is also all of 21 years old) with 20 points. Continuing the onslaught is Sharp (16 points), Hossa (11 points), Byfuglien (8 goals. Alright, I admit, I don't know how to pronounce his name, even though I've heard it said 100 times this playoff alone), Bolland and Keith.
Keith, Seabrook and the continuing surprising Hjalmarsson, are manning the fort on defence. Seabrook is an impressive plus 8 in 16 games. And then their is the unsung defencemen on this team: Brent Sopel and Brian Campbell.
Niemi was tested against the Sharks, twice facing over 40 shots a game. This will be his first Stanley Cup Finals. Previous trips to the finals for the Hawks, in goal, were the following goalies:
1961 Glenn Hall (407 wins)
1971 Tony Esposito (423 wins)
1973 Tony Esposito (again)
1992 Eddie Belfour (484 wins)
2010 Antti Niemi (27 wins)
Kinda looks out of place, don't you think? But, of course, Niemi is far from finished his career. It's just he's not far removed from the beginning. Funny though, Hall played in a Stanley Cup final in his first full year (earlier in 1956 forDetroit), Esposito and Belfour in their second full year. So Niemi isn't so alone, after all! And one way or another, this playoff experience will be a huge experience to build on.
Philly, meanwhile...I gotta say this: This has got to be one if not the most amazing run to the Stanley Cup final, ever. Two original six teams set aside plus and excellent New Jersey. Injuries have been shrugged off, odds have been laughed at, and history has been made.
Whose making it? Leighton, the team itself, but more on that later.
Mike Richards continues to get it done when his teams it needs it. Now he has 21 points in 17 games and is a plus 6. Briere also continues his strong play with 18 points. Then you have the surprising Claude Giroux. A point a game and a plus 10! Simon Gagne is playing like he is unfazed by his injury. After returning in game 4 vs Boston, he went on a seven game point scoring streak. He's been held scoreless for the last two games...but look out in the final. Leino and Carle (10 points and a plus 8 for the defence) might be overlooked, but Chicago better not do that in the finale. Jeff Carter, by the way, returned for Flyers after missing 11 games and scored 2 goals in the clinching fifth game against Montreal. Fan favourite (and opponent pest) Daniel Carcillo once again proved to be one of the games best aggitators in that series against the Habs, so expect that to continue in the finals.
Defence, or should I say, "Offence"? The defencemen on this team are getting it done at both ends. Pronger's overall game (+/- wise), statistically, might be overshadowed by Carle, but he's still got 14 points in 17 games. Also to pay attention to: Timonen. Like Carle, he's looking for his first goal of the playoffs, but he now has 8 points and a plus 6. Brandon Coburn is a plus 7.
As for goaltending, Leighton set a Flyers record for most shutouts in in one series with three against Montreal. Throw away game three of that series and he allowed 2 goals in 4 games! He seems to be getting better with every series and maybe every game. He will be tested severely by Chicago. Boucher is apparently going to be available for game 1 of this series, although it is quite likely he won't be playing, at least starting. He's been great, too. But the long layoff might hurt him. Hard to stay on a roll when you're injured.
Chicago in the finals has more guys comming in 100%. Gagne, Carter, Lapierriere (Boucher, too if he plays) are comming in less than that. But even with a fully healthy Flyers, I just feel it's Chicago, with their depth, and road play (they've won seven games on the road in this years playoffs) that make me feel they've got this series. They're going for their first Cup since 1961, and right now I can't see anyone stopping them.
Prediction: Chicago in six games.
References
"Official Site Of The National Hockey League." NHL.com. The National Hockey League, n.d. Web. 06 June. 2010. <http://www.nhl.com/>
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 06 June. 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment