The 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs have finally hit the Conference Finals in the East and West and another upset has been pulled here in the playoffs to set this up. Before we can fully set the table and preview the conference finals, lets look at how we got to where we are. Things will kickoff with the Western Conference.
The Los Angeles Kings are proving to be one of the hottest teams in hockey as for the 2nd straight round they pulled an upset beating the #2 St Louis Blues in a clean sweep. The Blues were unable to score more than 2 goals in a game, losing all four games by scores of 3-1, 5-2, 4-2 and 3-1. The Kings swept the Blues to advance to their first conference finals since 1993. Los Angeles scored 15 total goals in the series, while goaltender Jonathan Quick only allowed 6 total St. Louis goals. This series marked the first time in Kings history they have swept another team in a seven-game series, and the first time in NHL history the 8th seed has defeated both the 1st and the 2nd seeds. Dustin Brown was great in this series, especially on the penalty kill, tormenting Blues goalie Brian Elliot the entire time, setting up at least 5 short handed goals by the Kings in the series, and driving both Elliot and the Blues Defense crazy.
As for the Phoenix Coyotes, they had a slightly tougher series to go through against the Nashville Predators. The Coyotes defeated the Predators in five games to advance to their first ever conference finals in team history. This also marked the first time that Phoenix jumped to a 2–0 series lead since 1987. Ray Whitney scored the overtime winner in the Coyotes' 4–3 victory in Game 1. In Game 2, four different Phoenix players each had a goal and an assist in their 5–3 win. The Predators bounced back in Game 3, with goaltender Pekka Rinne stopping all 32 shots in a 2–0 victory. But Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith responded with a shutout of his own in Game 4, stopping 25 shots, while Shane Doan scoring the lone goal in a 1–0 Phoenix win. Smith then continued to hold Nashville scoreless until 14:01 of the third period of Game 5, and the Coyotes held on to a 2–1 victory to win the series.
So the Western Conference final is set and it has the #3 Phoenix Coyotes taking on the #8 Los Angeles Kings. As listed above both teams come into this west final having overcome a pretty easy second round with the Coyotes winning over the Preds in 5 and the Kings sweeping the Blues in 4 straight. This is the first playoff series between these two franchises (including when the Coyotes were in Winnipeg). Each team won three games in this year's six-game regular season series. The Kings reached the Conference Finals for the first time since 1993, going on to lose in the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens, while this marks the first Conference Finals appearance for the Phoenix Coyotes franchise, which made it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1987. So this series brings the most intrigue to the table of the two conference finals. The reason being is that neither franchise has had success like this in their history in the post season. Granted the Kings did make the Cup finals in 1993, they haven't had that much playoff success since then. Here is the schedule for the games in this series:
SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2012 8 PM LOS ANGELES AT PHOENIX NBCSN, TSN, RDS
TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012 9 PM LOS ANGELES AT PHOENIX NBCSN, TSN, RDS
THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012 9 PM PHOENIX AT LOS ANGELES NBCSN, TSN, RDS
SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2012 3 PM PHOENIX AT LOS ANGELES NBC, CBC, RDS
*TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012 9 PM LOS ANGELES AT PHOENIX NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012 9 PM PHOENIX AT LOS ANGELES NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*SATURDAY, MAY 26, 2012 8 PM LOS ANGELES AT PHOENIX TBD, CBC, RDS
So now that we know how this series plays out on what dates. Lets take a look at how these two clubs stack up against each other. First with the LA Kings, they are lead on offense by Dustin Brown who has 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points and Anze Kopitar who's got 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points.Jonathan Quick has been a rock in net for the Kings playing every minute so far in the playoffs going 9-1 with a 1.59 GAA. Antoine Vermette leads the charge on offense for the Coyotes with 9 points on 5 goals and 4 assists, and Shane Doan has put up OK numbers with 7 points on 3 goals and 4 assists. Mike Smith has played every minute in net for the Coyotes going 8-4 with a 1.87 GAA.
Now for the breakdown of this series.
Goaltending: Both goalies have put up good numbers in the playoffs this year, Jonathan Quick has lost only once in the entire post season and that was in the opening round to Vancouver, and allowed a total of 16 goals in the entire playoffs. Mike Smith has lost 4 games allowing 24 goals. Advantage: Kings.
Defense: The Kings team Defense has been good in the playoffs allowing an average of 1.60 goals per game. Jonathan Quick's outstanding play in net is a big reason for that, but still he also has to have a good team of blue liners in front. The Coyotes have allowed 2.08 goals per game. mike Smith has done good so far this post season and at times his blue liners have looked OK but had some lapses. Every defender has contributed at least one point on offense for the Kings with Drew Doughty leading that charge with 7, while with the Coyotes are lead by Rostislav Klesla and Keith Yandle with 7 points each. Despite the scoring punch by the Coyotes defenders, the Kings seem to play a much better defensive game. Advantage: Kings
Offense: This again seems almost unfair to really compare the two clubs, as the Kings average 3.10 goals a game and Coyotes average 2.58 goals a game. The Kings have had a point from everybody on their roster except 3 guys and the Coyotes have 4 guys without a point. The Kings PK has been the best in the playoffs and they have scored quite a few times on the penalty kill. Advantage: Kings.
Final Analysis: The Kings have been steamrolling everybody put in their way so far in the playoffs. Mike Smith may be able to steal a game or two but this one is pretty easy Kings in 5.
Now that we have the west covered, lets swing things back over to the east. New York eliminated Washington in seven games. In Game 1, the Rangers scored two goals within 1:30 in the third period to take a 3–1 victory. The Capitals then took Game 2, 3–2, after Alexander Ovechkin scored the game-winning power play goal with 7:27 left in the third period. Game 3 then ended at 14:41 of the third overtime with Marian Gaborik's goal to give New York a 2–1 win. This game was the 20th longest overtime game in NHL playoff history, the first 3OT game for the Rangers since 1971, and the longest overtime game in Rangers franchise history since 1939. New York also snapped a streak of seven consecutive playoff overtime losses, their last playoff overtime win coming in 2007. For Washington, it was the third-longest game in franchise history.
Washington evened the series in Game 4 with Mike Green's power play goal with 5:48 remaining to give the Capitals a 2–1 win. In Game 5, with Washington leading 2–1 with 21.3 seconds remaining, Capitals forward Joel Ward took a double-minor penalty for high-sticking Rangers forward Carl Hagelin, and on the ensuing power play New York forward Brad Richards scored the game-tying goal with 6.6 seconds left in regulation, the latest game-tying playoff goal in Rangers franchise history. The Rangers remained on the power play to start the overtime period, with Ward serving the second half of his double-minor, and Rangers defenseman Marc Staal scored the game-winning goal at 1:35 of OT, completing the comeback. Washington rebounded in Game 6, winning 2–1 as goaltender Braden Holtby made 30 saves to force Game 7. Brad Richards scored 1:32 into the first period to give the Rangers an early 1–0 lead Game 7, then Michael Del Zotto scored in the third period to make it 2–0. Washington's Roman Hamrlik cut the score to 2–1 shortly after Del Zotto's goal, but the Capitals were unable to score another goal and lost the series. Through their first 14 games of the playoffs, the Rangers did not allow more than three goals in any of the games, setting an NHL record.
The Devils defeated the Flyers in five games. In each game of the series, the team that scored first ended up losing. Daniel Briere scored 4:36 into overtime of Game 1 to give Philadelphia its lone victory of the series by the score of 4–3. New Jersey then scored four third-period goals in a 4–1 victory in Game 2. Alexei Ponikarovsky's goal 17:21 into overtime defeated the Flyers, 4–3, in Game 3. Then in Game 4, the Devils scored four unanswered goals to overcome a 2–0 deficit to win, 4–2. And finally in Game 5, New Jersey scored two first-period goals 3:18 apart en route to a 3–1 victory to win the series. What ultimately defined the series, and wins my award for the if only I could have played that one over plaque goes to Ilya Brysgalov of the Flyers for this big mistake he makes in game 5.
So thanks to Ilya Brysgalov and the inept Flyers we now have a great conference final set up in the east.
MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012 8 PM NEW JERSEY AT NY RANGERS NBCSN, CBC, RDS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2012 8 PM NEW JERSEY AT NY RANGERS NBCSN, CBC, RDS
SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012 1 PM NY RANGERS AT NEW JERSEY NBC, CBC, RDS
MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012 8 PM NY RANGERS AT NEW JERSEY NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012 8 PM NEW JERSEY AT NY RANGERS NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012 8 PM NY RANGERS AT NEW JERSEY NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*SUNDAY, MAY 27, 2012 8 PM NEW JERSEY AT NY RANGERS NBCSN, CBC, RDS
So now that we know when the games in this series will be played, lets take a closer look at this series. Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac lead the Devils in scoring and are the only two Devils in the playoffs to hit double digits in scoring. In goal of course will be Marty Brodeur has played almost every minute for the Devils between the pipes. As for the Rangers Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik lead the charge on offense for the Rangers both of whom have double digit point totals, and Henrik Lundqvist has played every minute of every game so far these playoffs.
Now for a full breakdown of the series:
Goaltending: Henrik Lundquvist has played ever minute so far in the playoffs pulling in an 8-6 record with a GAA of 1.68 and allowed 25 goals. As for Martin Brodeur, he has played all but one period in the playoffs going 8-3-1 with a GAA of 1.05 with allowing 25 goals. Based on pure statistics, it may be equal in goaltending in this series on paper. Lundquvist has yet to see this round of the playoffs in his career, while Brodeur has seen this five times in his career. Advantage: Even
Defense: The Rangers defensive unit has allowed 1.60 goals per game while the Devils have allowed 2.33 goals per game. Every Devils Defender has scored at least one point while the Rangers have gotten some clutch goal scoring from their Defense most notably Mark Staal and Dan Garadi. Those two guys have been the real shut down pair for the Rangers. Advantage: Rangers
Offense: As a team the Devils average 3.00 goals a game while the Rangers average 2.07 goals a game. Brad Richards leads the Rangers in goal scoring with 6 while Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac are tied for the Devils team lead with 5 each. The Devils it seems have had the more balanced scoring attack in this post season then the rangers have. Advantage: Devils
Final Analysis: In the 14 games the Rangers have played in the playoffs this year the goal difference has NEVER been more than 2 in a game. As for the Devils it has been 2 or more goals about half the time. This will be a low scoring hard hitting series there is no denying that fact. Based on the performance of both teams in the opening two rounds of the series this one is tough to call. Lundquvist will be called upon to stand on his head again in this series and the Devils will have to stay out of the penalty box. The biggest knock on the Rangers is right now the lack of scoring. Against a team like the Devils there really is no way a one goal lead is going to cut it. The Rangers need to get more scoring and it don't look right now like they have it. Final prediction: Devils in 7
So there you have it. the Conference Finals are set. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride to the cup finals!
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