Round-up Review

I figured I'd go a bit "macro" for a bit and focus on all of the various play-off series going on:

Eastern Conference -

Ottawa vs. Tampa Bay: I didn't see much of the second game of this match-up, though I've heard that T-Bay's stars far outplayed Ottawa's big guns in that particular contest. Im still banking on Ottawa taking this series in 6 however - the duo of Grahame and Burke aren't going to be able to withstand the Senators onslaught in the long run.

Carolina vs. Montreal: I watched the tennis match between these two teams last night from start to finish, and I've come to the conclusion it was the best post-season game played so far (Best = most entertaining). Multiple lead changes, high-tempo, end-to-end action, lots of chances, a couple of overtimes. Hell, even the Carolina fans were worked into a frothing frenzy by all the action. Wicked.

As for the result, I can't say Im terribly surprised that Montreal has jumped out to the early lead. Carolina's blueline (manned by Brett Hedican, Oleg Tverdovsky and bunch of 7th defenseman) is just not strong enough for the post-season. Add in the inexperience of both of their netminders and you have a recipe for disaster. Do I think Montreal will sweep? No. Is Carolina going to win the series? Doubtful.

Buffalo vs. Philly: The only thing that surprises me about this series so far is the lop-sided score in game 2. Aside from that, Philadelphia looks slow, Forsberg looks injured and Esche looks mediocre. Just as I thought they would.

If there's going to be sweep in the first round, it'll happen here.

New Jersey vs. New York: Again, another "no surpises here" for me. The Rangers are just NOT built for the play-offs, especially since they are lacking their most physical defensemen in Kasparaitus. Banking on the likes of Straka, Nylander and Sykora to lead you to the promised land is a plan destined to fail. The odds against a Blue-shirt comeback are even greater considering:

They've lost their MVP in Jagr and

are facing the hottest team in the league which is,

backed by one of the best goalies in the world.

Ouch.

If there's going to be a sweep in the fir...err, see above.

Western Conference -

Detroit vs. Edmonton: Usually, I'd rather have hot pokers applied to sensitive areas below my beltline than admit the Oiler's are playing well...but...

Edmonton has drastically altered their gameplan to a "trap and clog" strategy against the high powered Wings. And it's working. Add in the fact that they are getting some great performances from the likes of Pronger and Roloson (in contrast to the mediocre performances of, say, most of the Detroit team) and you have a potential upset in the making.

While this one's tied up at one a piece, I think Edmonton could easily be out in front at this point. Pretty much 90% of Detroit's goals have been lucky to a large degree. The Red Wing's stars (Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Legace, Lidstrom) have been pretty much bottled up and outplayed by the Oiler's stars thus far. If Detroit can't find a way to turn up the intensity and break through the Oiler-infused neutral zone, they may be looking at their 3rd straight post-season choke session in a row.

Dallas vs. Colorado: This is the series that has surprised me the most. The current version of the Dallas Stars looks NOTHING like the regular season version we saw all year. Their defense is as porous as a sponge and their goaltending is...well...Turco is proving, once again, that he's not a play-off kinda guy.

In contrast, the Av's have been able to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Theodore still looks pretty shakey to me, but he's been out-done by his 40+ game-winning counter-part at the other end. If the Stars can't regroup and completely right the ship in Colorado, this could be a shockingly short first round for them.

Calgary vs. Anaheim: The Ducks have thus far proven that they can both skate and hit with the Flames, and the Flames have yet to consistently respond with anything aside from shock. While it's true that the series has been relatively even (5 goals for, 5 goals against, 1 SH goal each, 1-1 split), Anaheim has seemed to have the upper hand to a greater degree so far. The good news for the Flames is that Kipper rarely loses two in a row and Iginla looks like he's playing at peak form once again.

San Jose vs. Nashville: The series of the powerplay goal. Neither team is able to do anything at even strength. Not that that's an issue, since the two clubs seem intent on trading powerplays for each entire contest.

So far, I'd say Joe Thornton has been disappointing, if only based on his point total (2 assists) relative to the torrid pace he set during the regular season. Nashville's stand-in backstopper, Mason, has performed admirably in the first two games, especially considering the post-season melt-downs by some of his more esteemed contemporaries (Turco, Gerber, Esche). On the other hand, it looks like Toskala is determined to make Nabokov a very expensive back-up for the Sharks organization.

Overall, I still stand my San Jose pick - though, really, it looks like this one could go either way.
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And that's how I've made sense of the maelstrom up to now. Of course, banking on any particular outcome based on an analysis of this rather embryonic play-off season is probably foolish...

but Im nothing if not foolish. And arrogant. And really, really good-looking...