Playoff Preview: Devils/Rangers

Head to Head Regular Season Record: The Rangers won 7 games, The Devils won one game. Two of these games were decided in overtime. Two of these games were decided in a shootout.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils had an enigmatic season in 2007'08. Because of final construction of the state-of-the-art Prudential Center, the Devils started the season with 9 straight games on the road and were awful, winning only three games. Rookie coach Brent Sutter had numerous closed door meetings with players in October, including veterans Jamie Langenbrunner, Patrik Elias and Colin White, to discuss certain problem areas with the team and was able to turn the season around quickly. The Devils went on a 9 game winning streak beginning in late November, and competed with Pittsburgh for the Atlantic Division Title for much of the year. The Devils, led by future Hall of Famer goaltender Martin Brodeur, were excellent defensively again this year but struggled to light the lamp ( 206 goals for, lowest of all Eastern Conference playoff teams). Zach Parise is the team's most dangerous scoring threat, but only managed 65 points this year. The Devils still have four balanced scoring lines but rely too heavily on the afformentioned Parise, Elias, Langenbrunner and the diminuitive Brian Gionta. The Devils swept the Rangers in 2005'06 due in large part to the tenacious forechecking mastered by John Madden and Jay Pandolfo. The two grinders shut down Jaromir Jagr and Michael Nylander and the Rangers were left scratching their heads. If the Devils can stop the likes of Jagr, Shanahan, Drury and Gomez, they will ease the load of their scoring lines. This works fine for Sutter, who knows his strength is his defense. The Devils cannot give up early goals or penalties to New York because they are a team that thrives with the lead, and free of the sin bin.

New York Rangers

The Rangers finished 5th in the Eastern Conference and one spot shy of a home playoff berth due in large part to a stellar second half. The Rangers found the chemistry they had been seeking all season long when Scott Gomez and Chris Drury were paired opposite each other to compliment players such as Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, Martin Straka and Brandon Dubinsky. Jagr didn't have the best year but improved his play without the puck in a year which saw an underrated Rangers defense squad mature significantly. Defencemen like Michael Rozsival and trade deadline acquisition Christian Backman were good down the stretch and helped the Rangers win close games against Eastern Conference rivals. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was sensational all year and is a legitimate Vezina candidate (37 wins, 10 shutouts, 2.23 GAA). His amazing individual performances early in the season allowed Gomez and Jagr to slump early and then find their form later on. The Rangers are the type of team that lives and dies by the power play. Their major weakness lies in a non-physical defense corps. The Rangers do not have Darius Kaispairits or Jeff Beukeboom anymore. This will hurt them against a quick transition team like New Jersey. The Rangers will need to steal a game at "The Rock" in order for this series to go past five games.

Prediction: Devils in 5.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.

Playoff Preview: Ducks vs. Stars

The Dallas Stars are a very good hockey team. Actually, with the trade-deadline the addition of Brad Richards, they are a downright excellent hockey team, even if their late-season record might not show it. They are loaded with experienced forwards, a solid defense (even with an injured Sergei Zubov), and one of the best goaltenders in the game in Marty Turco. This is a group that plays playoff style hockey –whatever that means. Which is why, in the 2008 NHL Playoffs, the Dallas Stars will…….still not make it out of the first round.

The 2008 Anaheim Mighty Ducks remind me of Ralph Wiggam’s softball team in the Simpsons episode where every few minutes an MLB superstar (Mattingly! Sax!) would walk in and Ralph would get to add him to the roster. The Ducks were a decent albeit unexceptional team at midseason, but then, magically, guess who appeared: Niedermayer! And then…..Selanne! And all of a sudden it became apparent that the Ducks are – to steal from Larry David – pretty pretty good. If you want a barometer for how good this team became, a good reference point is probably how good they were last year with these guys around. The answer to that is engraved on Lord Stanley’s Cup.

So if I’m going to go with the conventional wisdom and pick the better team to win the series –something Detroit fans will tell you doesn’t always happen – I’ve got to pick the Ducks. They might not be good enough to win it all –it’s hard to argue with a Sharks team that only lost 9 road games all season – but they should be able to survive a tough matchup with the Stars. Look for solid shut down play from the likes of Moen, R. Niedermayer, Pahlsson, et al. And look for Chris Pronger to leave his mark on the series…rather than on somebody’s leg.

Prediction: Ducks in Seven

For Illegal Curve, I'm Steve Werier.

Playoff Preview: Penguins vs. Senators

Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher, and Chris Kelly.

That’s all I need to say. With the absence of those three, the Sens are in trouble. As Alfredsson is the heart and soul of the team, his presence will be missed the most. Whether it be running the powerplay, the penalty killing unit, or providing leadership, his absence will create a large void in the lineup. Fisher’s puck prowess and Kelly’s speed will also be detrimental to the Sens advancing to round number two. Look for Martin Lapointe to see increased powerplay time, and to try and cause havoc in front of M-A Fleury. With this being “Wendy” Redden’s swan song in a Sens uniform and Corvo being shipped off to Carolina, Meszaros needs to step up big time.

Pittsburgh’s 1A line features Crosby, Hossa, and at this point Pascal Dupuis. Although Phillips and Volchenkov may be able to somewhat contain them, I can’t see Brian Lee or for goodness sakes Luke Richardson being able to hold line 1B of Malkin, Sykora and Malone off of the scoresheet for too long. The Pens boast a lethal powerplay featuring Hossa, Malkin, Malone in front with Crosby now playing one of the points. Combine that with Gonchar’s powerplay quarterbacking capabilities, and you’ve got a recipe for a Pens victory.

Regarding goalies, Fleury does probably hold a slight advantage over the Sens’ Darth Gerber. With both having little playoff experience to this point, aside from Gerber riding the pine to the Canes victory in 2006, goaltending won’t be the difference maker. It is going to come down to the Sens’ being able to contain the Pens’ top two lines. With Alffy, Fisher, and Kelly all likely being out, Cody Bass or Nick Foligno won’t be able to do an effective shut down job anytime soon.

Pens in 6.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Neil Rockman.