#1 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #4 Boston Bruins:
TJ: I was a little surprised with how easy Boston dispatched of the Rangers, not so much with the way the Penguins dismantled the Senators. But here we are in the Eastern Conference finals and I can say I am not really surprised at who we are seeing here. Two contrasting styles in a high tempo offensive Pens team against the tight checking hard forechecking Bruins.
If there is a kryptonite to this Penguins team I think it could be the Bruins. The Pens have shown some real inability to play in their own end. Not something like they can't make a good break-out pass, or have poor coverage....it's really like the Penguins have ZERO idea what they are doing in their own end at times. The Bruins smart forecheck and bruising play will cause havok in the Pens zone.
The Bruins themselves aren't invincible though as they have have shown troubles to contain a good breakout. Didn't see it much against the Rangers but I think the Maple Leafs exploited it to a point of almost putting the Bruins down (....almost).
I bring up flaws because the teams have too much good stuff going for them each to try and compare that way.
Bik: Bostin did win the series pretty quickly when they managed to turn John Tortorella against his own team. So... that helped.
Not to suggest he's going to have a breakout series, since he's already having a breakout playoffs but Torey Krug might be a pivotal part of what Boston can do in this series to Pittsbugh offensively. You mentioned how Pittsburgh at times looks lost in their own zone, and as we've learned from the Toronto series, Boston enjoys leaning on teams against the boards and working the puck back to the point. Krug could find the puck on his stick in prime positions, not only in an offensive set-up fashion, but also on the rush with players like Seguin, Marchand, Bergeron ahead of him on the rush with lanes to the net thanks to the Penguins shoddy gap control (which was really showcased on Alfredsson's game tying goal in Game 3). I know its bold saying a 22 year old kid with 5 games of NHL playoff experience under his belt might step into the limelight. But I'm buying a lotta Tory Krug shares.
Wait why am I a Boston supporter all of a sudden?!? Oh right, because since LA knocked off the Sharks thus ending the streak of teams beating the Canucks and winning the cup... Why wouldn't the universe summon a Chicago - Boston finals to make us Canucks Fans hate our lives even more... Do we have a new coach yet? I need a drink.
TJ: Eastern Finals. 3 weeks after Canucks eliminated. Start the conspiracy theories. Make sense....
I like that you bring up Krug because he is an unsung hero in these playoffs. The kind of story you love to hear. And the kind of player that will thrive with time at the point. The Bruins have a great strategy of establishing a deep forecheck, retrieve the puck, back to the point, shot on net. With Chara shooting bombs, Krug finding holes, and Boychuck finding the net more than most forwards it seems to be working. Here is the catch though. Can those big lumbering defense catch the fast skating forwards of the Penguins?
I think this will be like the Toronto series where everyone watching questions whether the Penguins have any defense dressed, and sit waiting for that Boston goal only to be fooled by Pittsburghs 18 forwards who once they get the puck burst up ice and score on their first shot in 5 minutes. Dump the puck into the Pittsburgh zone, start fire drill, rinse repeat.
I think a lot of Boston fans will walk away from this and go "how did we dominate so much yet still lost?" I'll tell you how. Your opponent dresses 18 forwards, one goalie and a sieve.
Bik: A Sieve?!?!? Tuukka Rask has something to say about that! Fun Fact: when you type in Tuuk, into youtube, the first suggested hit is "Tuukka Rask Fail".
Despite that epic fail, I think the edge goes to Tuukka Rask in this series by a large margin. With Boston able to generate so much offensive zone pressure, not only with their bruising forecheck but also their defensive prowess generating shots from the point and puck retrieval... How much do I trust Tomas Vokoun? Fun Opinion: I think we see a Marc-Andre Fleury sighting in this series.
As devastating as the straight line speed and power of the Penguins offence is, I just think that Boston is too regimented, too disciplined, too crafty and too well coached to get sucked into playing a game the way Pittsburgh wants to. On top of all that, as slow as their D can be, the forwards are no slouches and Claude Julien has them all responsibly minded to get back and help out in any way imaginable. Boston in 7.
TJ: All the numbers at stats and reasoning say Boston but that Pittsburgh offence just demands respect. "Oh you scored 4 times on our terrible goalies? LOLZ guess we only have to score 5 times tonight"
They average more than a goal game more than any other team. Average. Per game. One more.
Boston isn't going to go down without a fight but if you give any of that talent the slightest bit of space they will make you pay. Boston wins the tight checking low scoring games, Pittsburgh wins in high flying shootouts. Deciding factor....home ice. We have yet to really touch on coaching and I think that getting the matchups they want will determine the outcomes of the games. Chara can only play so often and when you have as many threats as the Pens do, you will find a guy like Torey Krug in his own end not sure of what to do. Penguins in 7
#1 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #5 Los Angeles Kings:
Bik: I've discounted Chicago for 2 series in a row, picked against them last round (and they were down 3-1 in the series) and now here they are in the Conference Finals about to play the defending Stanley Cup Champions.... Drew Doughty.. and well 20+ other guys that make up the Los Angeles Kings.
Ok mini rant here first. You and I have discussed in the past about the need for a Stud d-man over a stud goalie. The theory being if you have a d-man that can limit chances and provide weak chances for the opposition, the goalie should be able to stop average scoring chances. I still very much believe that to be the case, but man is Jonathan Quick batting that theory outta the park. ESPN ran some numbers on shots that came from top of the circles inside the face-off dots to the goale line. Through these playoffs Quick has seen 186 shots of that kind. And he's only let in 13 goals. A .930 SV% on scoring chances. What's baffling about that number is that a team as defensively sound as Los Angeles, actually gives up that many shots from such a high traffic area. Something that San Jose Sharks forward and amateur diver Logan Couture alluded to: "We had a bunch of chances in the third, that's what teams do when they move on. They score on those chances they get. They did it, and we didn't"
So TJ, can the Kings sustain giving up 14.3 shots a game from high scoring areas vs. a team with the skill level Chicago possesses?
TJ: Wait....what? Really?!?! I thought LA played better defense than most teams? And Quick's save percentage on scoring chances (meaning legit opportunities to score) would rank 5th in just regular save percentage these playoffs. Just think about that....
As is the usual when you get deeper into the playoffs the better the team gets. And it sounds cliche but these teams are essentially playing the better versions of the teams they beat in the previous rounds. Chicago is a more offensively gifted Sharks and the Kings a defensively/offensively better Wings. So who will have trouble with the tougher competition? I'll say the team that by game 5 was facing elimination. The Blackhawks dodged bullets last round. They should have had no troubles with Detroit, yet found themselves in OT in game 7. This Hawks team just hasn't looked the same since they won the Stanley Cup a few seasons ago. They lack that killer instinct and seem to rely more on cruise control than actually out-working their opponent. LA uses the opposite tactic. Noone will out work them. As the old saying goes hardwork will always outwork talent.
Bik: But isn't Chicago finally a team that can score more than 2 goals on Jonathan Quick? Also I'm seriously sick of that stat of the Kings being 22-0 when they score 2 goals. My distaste for this team is starting to show. Maybe I need some Drew Doughty talk to inspire me again. Also another stat I'm getting tired of, their last 6 playoff losses have all been 2-1. So basically Jonathan Quick is a world-beater and he keeps you in every game despite with octopus like saves 14 times a game.
All of this LA gushing is starting to annoy me is what I'm saying....
I really want to conjure up a theory of how to beat LA in the playoffs.. but but but.... NOBODY CAN APPARENTLY DO IT IN THE PAST 2 SEASONS..... How TJ how can Chicago finally strike down on this apparent juggernaut.
TJ: uhhh....maybe they.....hmmmmm.....oh! they can....nope.....uhhhh........
I guess they should start by dictating the pace. Too many times do teams playing LA get caught into that tight checking 2-1 game where apparently LA wins 95% of the time. Get LA opening up and force Quick to make tough saves. Like...tougher saves than regular goal scoring opportunities because he stops 93% of those anyways. So be better than that.
Chicago has the talent to be a Stanley Cup champion but the mentality these playoffs hasn't been there. If they get focused (and make sure you win those first two games at home) they can steer that ship to the finals. But if they get behind, start getting frustrated, you will see a repeat of last series. Facing elimination early in the series. And just an FYI....you won't come back from 3-1 down to the Kings.
Bik: I'm telling you - all logic points towards Los Angeles vs. Pittsburgh. But the universe revolves around wanting to hurt Canucks Fans. Chicago and Boston are teams of destiny. It's going to happen.
I still can't get past the thought that LA gives up THAT many chances in the slot. If LA gives up those kind of chances to the likes of Sharp, Hossa, Toews, Kane, that whole 22-0 stat might start to go out the window if they have to play catch up in a game. Which really based off the previous 2 playoffs, they never really have to chase a game.... well.. uuhh... because Jonathan Quick keeps them in every game. Dammit, back to square one. Screw it... I'm going Chicago. Blackhawks in 7.
TJ: Hahah well looks like in the East you took logic I took heart. We will switch it for this one. Logic tells me that defense wins championships. And defense is what LA does. And when they don't do that they do goaltending. Apparently REALLY well too. We saw how frustrated the Blackhawks stars can get and I think that despite performing well so far, the depth of the team won't be making a real big appearance this series. I will take LA in 6 games.
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