Midpoint Playoff Update

By Brian Andrzejewski and Ben Schreiber

Western Conference: For the first time in NHL playoff history, an 8 seed has knocked off the number 1 and 2 seeds in the first two rounds. The Los Angeles Kings are playing better hockey now, than any team has all year. Led by captain Dustin Brown, and goalie Jonathan Quick, the Kings have succeeded on shocking the hockey world by beating both the President's Trophy Winner of 2011 Vancouver Cnaucks, and the 2 seed St. Louis Blues. Now, in the Western Conference Finals, the Kings have a chance to beat the 3 seeded Pheonix Coyotes. Pheonix did not strike me as a cup contender until the playoffs began. They managed to take down the 6 seeded Chicago Blackhawks and the red-hot Nashville Predators. The only team standing in their way of their first ever Stanley Cup appearance is the LA Kings. Pheonix had yet to win a playoff series in franchise history until this year; The Kings have made multiple cup appearances during the Gretzky era. In result of this franchise experience, I feel that the Kings have a much better chance of winning the WCF. Also, both teams have incredible goaltending in Jonathan Quick, and MVP contender Mike Smith. However, Pheonix doesn't have the offensive power to get by Quick, unlike LA who has Brown, Richards, and more to put pucks past Mike Smith. A Stanley Cup contender needs an all around team, not just goaltending and defense. That is also why the Devils have and advantage on the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The New Jersey Devils, of course, have incredible defense along with all-star forwards Ilya Kovylchuck and Zach Parise. On the other hand, Devils' rival, New York Rangers have potential in their goalie Henrik Lundqvist, but only scored two even strengthed goals in the 2nd round of the playoffs. That type of play will never give the Ranegrs a chance to make the Cup finals. 

NHL 2012 Playoff Preview

By Brian Andrzejewski and Ben Schreiber 

Eastern Conference:

(1) New York Rangers vs. (8) Ottawa Senators : (By Ben Schreiber)

Anything can happen. This year the Senators will upset the Rangers.  They went 3-1-0 against the Rangers this season, and their high-scoring attack led by Erik Karlsson will put pressure on the Blueshirts. Ottawa, picked by many to finish last in the league, will surprise many when they beat the Rangers in seven games.

Ben’s Pick: Senators in 7

Brian’s Pick: Rangers in 4

(2) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Washington Capitals: (By Ben Schreiber)

In this series, the deciding factor is going to be Tim Thomas.  He has not played as well as last year, and needs to be in top form to beat the Capitals.  As for the Caps, Backstrom and Green are back from injuries.  If Washington can finally get their stars to get hot at the same time, then look for them to take the series.  I do not see that happening. Boston wins in six.

Ben’s Pick: Bruins in 6.

Brian’s Pick: Bruins in 7

(3) Florida Panthers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils: (By Ben Schreiber)

The “underdog” in this series is the New Jersey Devils, although they shouldn’t be.  The Devils are hot coming into the playoffs, and we all know how important that is. Devils Coach Peter DeBoer was fired by Florida after last season, and I am sure he will not let his team lose.  The Panthers made a run that no one expected them to this season, and it will come crashing to an end when they run into a hot Devils team. Look for the Devils to win in 5.

Ben’s Pick: Devils in 5

Brian’s Pick: Devils in 6

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers: (By Brian Andrzejewski)

Evgeni Malkin (league leader in points and most likely MVP of the league), along with Sidney Crosby and Jordan Stall gives the Pens the three best centers in the NHL. Next to Malkin you see a young star, James Neal. He may have the best potential of any player in the NHL. He is good now, but will be an elite player a few years from now. Aside from their offensive power, Pitt also has Kris Letang on defense and Marc-Andre Fleury in net; not to mention the fact that Fleury is one of the hottest goalies in the league right now. On the other hand, you have Philly. The Flyers are the same team as always, but without their star center and winger from last season, Mike Richards and Ville Leino. These two players were both huge contributors in the 2011 playoffs. Philly is the type of team that will either go down early or make a run for the cup. Unfortunately, the have to face the best team in the league at the moment.The Pens are a serious contender for the cup.

Brian’s Pick: Pittsburgh in 5

Ben’s Pick: Flyers in 7

 

Western Conference:

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings: (By Brian Andrzejewski)

Vancouver, once again, is atop of the Western conference. Last year in round one, they had a huge scare and won in overtime of game 7 against Chicago. The Canucks will use this as motivation to not let it happen again. At the same time, the Kings are always middle of the pack and want to use these playoffs to make a name for them. It will be a tough, hard-fought series, but  Vancouver will most-likely come out victorious at the end. The Sedin brothers, along with Kessler, and others make their team a scoring threat; and as we know, Roberto Luongo is not an easy goalie to score on. On the other hand, LA has had trouble scoring all season and I don’t think Luongo will let up enough goals for the Kings to win.

Brian’s Pick: Vancouver in 7

Ben’s Pick: Vancouver in 6

(2) St. Louis Blues vs. (7) San Jose Sharks:  (By Ben Schreiber)

The Blues have dominated the Sharks this season, winning all four games.  The young Blues is clashing with an experienced Sharks team. For the Sharks to win Goaltender Anti Niemi will have to steal a couple games. The Blues domination of the Sharks will continue into the playoffs when they win in five games.

Ben’s Pick: Blues in 5

Brian’s Pick: Blues in 6

(3) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (6) Chicago Blackhawks: (By Brian Andrzejewski)

This series does not necessarily interest me too much. I think that the Hawks are a better team than Phoenix, but Phoenix has the higher seed due to the rules of the NHL. Chicago has a much better/better fan base (which can be a big part of playoffs), and they still have Kane, Toews, and Duncan Keith on D. They haven’t got any worse from when they won the Cup in 2010. The Coyotes on the other hand are having one of their better seasons in a while, but they don’t strike me as the type of team that will make a run for the Cup.

Brian’s Pick: Blackhawks in 6

Ben’s Pick: Blackhawks in 6

(4) Nashville Predators vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings: (By Brian)

This is the best series of the playoffs. It is by far the most competitive and its between two teams that aren’t the best of friends. These two teams are very similar. They both have good goaltending, great offensive scorers, strong defenses, and good fan bases (obviously: “Hockey Town”). It will be an interesting match-up of defenseman. Who will win? Nikolas Lidstrom: veteran, best defender in NHL history, but old; or Shea Weber: young star, one of the best defenseman of late, but not too much playoff experience. It should be a fun series, but I think it will come down to a game 7 in Nashville, and the home team usually wins in game 7.

 Brian’s Pick: Predators in 7

Ben’s Pick: Predators in 7

Boston College Wins NCAA National Championship

By Brian Andrzejewski

On Saturday April 8, the Boston College Eagles defeated the Ferris St. Bulldogs for their 5th National Championship in school history. Behind goalie Parker Milner, forward Paul Carey, and defesneman Tommy Cross and Brian Doumalin, the soaring Eagles were unbeatable. Their last loss was on January 21 vs. Maine. Parker Milner played out of his mind all of the tournament an only let up 2 goals in four games. In the semi-finals (first round of Frozen Four), BC took down power-house Minnesota 6-1. Then went on to win in the championship game 4-1. Click here to watch a video to see their road to the championship.

Click here to read more about he tournament and the championship game.

Push to the Playoffs

By Brian Andrzejewski

As the NHL nears the conclusion of the regular season, teams are fighting to clinch playoff spots. Teams like New York and St. Louis are happily relaxed at the top of the standings and teams like Buffalo and Washington are buckling down, knowing in the back of their minds that one loss can drop them out of the runnings.

Already in:

I would no doubt say that the St. Louis Blues will finish first in the Western conference, possibly first in the league to acquire their first Presidents' Cup in a long time. On the other hand,  the New York Rangers would be first in the East if the playoffs began today, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are playing the best hockey currently of any team in the league. As they trail the Big Blue by one point, Malkin, Crosby, and the crew are taking on the challenge. In their last 13 games the Pens are 12-0-1. 

Here is a look at how the playoffs would look if the season were to end today: click here.

Edgy Eigth:

Photo courtesy of NHL.com.In the Eastern Conference the 8th spot is literally coming down to the wire. It won't be decided until game 82 of the regular season. The 7 seeded Ottawa Senators are slipping and are only 2 points above the 8 seeded Washington Capitals. Although, the Caps are tied in amount of points with the uprising Buffalo Sabres. Then, not far behind the Caps and Sabres are the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets, in their innagural season, have impressed the league tremendously after missing out on the playoffs in Atlanta for multiple consecutive years. I personally beleive that the Buffalo Sabres will finish in 7th and the Washington Capitals will steal the 8 seed. Ottawa is playing very poorly of late and both Buffalo and Washington are coming on strong. Also, Buffalo is nearly unstoppable currently with Ryan Miller playing the best any goalie has played all year. He has consistently won games for the Sabres alone and goaltending is key to success this late in the season.

In the Western conference the four teams are withing 2 points of eachother and only one will make the playoffs. As of now the Dallas Stars would take the 8th seed, but they are being trailed by Colorado, San Jose, and Calgary. I personally think San Jose will win this battle, because they have to most games remaining out of the four and they are only one point out of 8th. San Jose also has a lot of players with tons of post-season experience, which can help a lot at this point of the season. Lastly, like Buffalo, San Jose will get help from their goaltender Antti Niemi; as I said earlier, goaltending is key to success this late in the season and into the playoffs.

Here is a look at the battle for 8th: click here.

NCAA Tournament

By Brian Andrzejewski

For those of you college hockey fans or hockey crazies in general, here is a look at the 2012 NCAA hockey tournament. 

As always, the favorite teams in the tournament are Boston College, Michigan, North Dakota, and the list goes on. This year though, I would look out for a few teams to pull a few upsets and make a run for the NCAA championship. Teams like Maine, Denver, Cornell, and others have a legitamite chance of winning. Maine is playing phenomenal hockey of late and recently beat Boston University to go on to lose to Boston College in the Hockey East Finals. Last year a 9 seeded Minnesota-Duluth came on strong and took their first championship in school history. Who will be next?

One other specific match-up to look at in the bracket is the 8-9 game (3rd down on the left): Minnesota will be taking on Boston University. Both teams have historic pasts with multiple championships under their belts. Both teams were one seeds at one point or another during this past season. The experience level of the two teams will most likely result in this battle being fast-paced, and aggresice. Expect big hits and big goals. I am looking forward to the match-up.