Photo Credit: Reuters
As the regular season comes to a close, twelve teams will be searching for ways to better themselves next season while 16 teams will be searching for a way to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Though nine of last year’s Stanley Cup teams have made it back to the playoffs again, this season’s matchups are a drastic change from the last, but that may not be a bad thing. What we have in this post season are your select teams that we all just knew would clinch a spot, one way or another, as well as those teams that totally surprised us and might continue to surprise us in what’s to come. Some teams are going to get another shot at what they may have been robbed of in the past while a select few are going to fight to get their coveted Cinderella moment. The 2014-15 Stanley Cup Playoff Series proves to be more unique than the last.
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Montreal vs. No. 4 Ottawa
What excites most hockey fans about this series is the goaltender match up. The Ottawa Senators’ Andrew Hammond, who made the switch from the AHL to his new team merely two months ago, is going up against one of the best goalies in the league, Carey Price. After suffering an injury during the first game of the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals last season which prevented him from competing in the six-game-series, Price is ready to take this post season head on. I knew Montreal would be a real Stanley Cup Contender this post season the minute Madison Square Garden erupted into an emotional atmosphere as they skated off of the ice with their heads low after losing to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals. However, I actually didn’t expect Ottawa to claim a playoff spot, and I am being totally honest about that. Call me biased for watching them lose to the New York Rangers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the 2012-13 postseason, but throughout the regular season, I didn’t find their playing to be too exceptional and without that win against New York last week they would have still been clinging on to every last bit of hope during their final regular season game this past Saturday. Montreal takes the lead with home-ice advantage and looks to make the first game a Canadiens victory on Wednesday night.
No. 2 Tampa Bay vs. No. 3 Detroit
The series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings is going to be one of those series’ that creates a real rivalry between two teams that may not have had any reason to be rivals otherwise. I could tell that Tampa Bay was a Stanley Cup Playoff contender way back in the beginning of the regular season when they were already playing with a playoff mindset. Where I really noticed this was during every game they played against the New York Rangers, either former New York captain Ryan Callahan wanted to prove to his old team he wasn’t bitter that they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last post season and that he could succeed without them, or the team was just better as a whole. After losing to the Montreal Canadiens during the last Stanley Cup playoffs, there is no doubt that Tampa Bay is going to try to win this series as fast as they can. Upon being knocked out of the first round of the playoffs last season, it comes as no surprise that Detroit wanted to give it another go. Whether or not they will be able to keep up with the speed and agility of Tampa Bay is questionable, but this is the Stanley Cup playoffs and every team needs to be above normal standards to really make an impression. The series kicks off Thursday in Tampa Bay.
No. 1 New York vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh
While the New York Rangers, the first team to clinch a playoff berth and the team who also won the President’s Trophy this year, are fighting to claim their place in the Stanley Cup Finals again this year, the Pittsburgh Penguins who should thank their lucky stars, are looking at this round as a way to come in and complete last postseason’s unfinished business. During the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, Pittsburgh nearly had a place in the third round and were about to win it in five games, until New York came in and stole the show, overcoming a 3-1 deficit for the first time in their franchise history. Though nobody wants to speak too soon, the outcome of this round is actually unpredictable. We don’t know if New York is going to hold up to how well they have played during the regular season, or if Pittsburgh is going to play hard enough for what they think is rightfully theirs. Just as the full-of-wit writers at Puck Daddy put it “the Penguins are trying to prove they’re not a fractured disaster in waiting, while the President’s Trophy winners are trying to become the bride after being the bridesmaid last year.” Though a little, okay a HUGE part of me really wanted New York to go up against any team besides Pittsburgh, for old times sake and for the sake of a classic rivalry, I have to say that I am excited to watch this series. It is very likely that this is going to turn into a seven-game series and with a home-ice advantage starting on Thursday night for New York, anything can happen.
No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 New York
A matchup between Alex Ovechkin and John Tavares is actually a lot better than it sounds, and to be honest, the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders are probably the only two teams that may be the most evenly matched in the first round. Though each team finished with 101 points and have their key players, there are a few factors that make Washington stand out. They have the league’s top-ranked power play while New York nears the bottom in penalty killing. While Ovechkin, the league’s best scorer, will be playing for his first career Stanley Cup, New York will be playing for a chance to win their final cup at Nassau Coliseum before the franchise makes the switch to Brooklyn next season. During the regular season, every team wanted to have a tussle with New York and nobody could wrap their minds around how much better they had gotten since finishing in last place last season. Nobody imagined that they would come in and finish off the season in a higher seed than last year’s, let alone clinch a playoff spot, but in reality, a team can only be considered “bad” for so long. Though it can turn out to be a close and lengthy series, a big advantage that Washington has is definite playoff experience, whereas New York falls short in that area. There is no better word to describe this series that begins on Wednesday the way “compelling” does.
Western Conference
No. 1 St. Louis vs. No. 4 Minnesota
The St. Louis Blues have been a dominant team all season and the Minnesota Wild has been considered the best in the league for the last three months, making this matchup one of a kind. Since the beginning of January, when goaltender for Devan Dubnyk made his start for Minnesota, the team took an incredible turn, gaining seven more points than St. Louis did within the same time frame. Over the same period of time, Minnesota has an NHL-leading plus-43 goal differential, making them a lot better than the New York Rangers and St. Louis in terms of numbers. The day before Dubnyk’s start, Minnesota was the third worst team in the Western Conference, but they made the playoffs and what happened in the regular season doesn’t really matter right now, but they do have their work cut out for them. St. Louis starts the series on home ice Thursday with key players like T.J. Oshie and Vladimir Tarasenko who are sure to give Minnesota a run for their money.
No. 2 Nashville vs. No. 3 Chicago
This matchup could work in favor of the Chicago Blackhawks, which should make the Nashville Predators who have held a pretty good record during the regular season a little bit fearful. Chicago is considered one of the strongest teams in the West and this year might be their time to make up for their past Stanley Cup playoff upset. As noted by NHL.com, Chicago heads into the postseason as one of the most experienced playoff teams in the league, and if that wasn’t an advantage enough, they have 17 players with 25 combined Stanley Cup championships, including Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Brent Seabrook to name a few. Speaking of Kane, he will be back on the ice for the first game of the first round. The past two Stanley Cup playoffs that Nashville played in, star goaltender Pekka Rinne wasn’t in net, but this time around he’ll join his team on the ice, hoping to advance to the Finals. The last time Rinne showed face in the playoffs, he appeared in 73 games during the regular season and put up really strong numbers, which may give his team and fans a glimmer of hope, but considering how he played in the last six weeks of the season, Nashville may want to step up their game in other aspects and not rely only who is in net. The series kicks off Wednesday night with Nashville on home ice.
No. 1 Anaheim vs. No. 4 Winnipeg
This matchup is going to be unique, and here is why. The Anaheim Ducks are the only California-based team to enter the Stanley Cup playoffs this year while the Winnipeg Jets will enter for the first time since the relocation of the franchise 19 years ago. Last year, all three California teams made their mark during the playoffs, but this time around, Los Angeles and San Jose fell short, while Anaheim picked up the pace, knowing they had unfinished business to tend to. Finishing the regular season with the best record in the NHL and 109 points, Getzlaf, Perry, and Kesler, otherwise described as the “holy trinity,” look to avoid an upset similar to the last. Anaheim lacks a solid foundation of puck possession for a Cup contender and they come in at 16th in the league for score-adjusted shot attempt percentage at 51.3, while Winnipeg, who may not stand as tall as Anaheim has one of the strongest score-adjust shot attempt percentages. As odd of a matchup as this is, it could definitely turn out to be the most interesting first-round series starting on Wednesday in Anaheim due to their differences.
No. 2 Vancouver vs. No. 3 Calgary
These are two teams that are highly defined by their seasons. The Vancouver Canucks are competent and play solid hockey while the Calgary Flames are the out-of-nowhere underdogs with heart but lack a strong puck possession. Calgary holds the weakest puck possession percentage out of every team in the playoffs, but like other teams that lack in certain areas, they have their ways to make up for it or else they may not have made the playoffs. Vancouver came in at 14th in scoring even-strength goals so they need to do anything but rely on the power play to boost their offense. Analysts and fans everywhere have a feeling this is going to take the length of the allowed seven games and either team could find their win in an overtime round, rather than regulation time, because it is just going to be that intense. Each team has their own secret weapons and though most are favoring Vancouver for the win, Calgary may still have a little bit of fight left in them. The expected seven-game-series is set to kick off Wednesday night on Vancouver ice.
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The 2014-15 NHL Stanley Cup playoff schedule is available here.
