NHL Eastern Conference Playoff Predictions

Chris Ferraro | April 13th

Washington Capitals (1)

Goaltending may pose a problem as it did last year when Varlimov replaced Theodore. Theodore will start again this year. An obvious favorite. The top power play in the east at 25% should be a a huge advantage against any opponent. Have an abundance of offensive skill, but need to do some dirty work in playoffs as well and not look to be to fancy. Nice veteran additions to line up to join Ovechkin, Semin, and Backstrom are Knuble, Belanger, and Corvo.

Montreal Canadiens (8)

Also a very good power play operating at 22% with Markov, Gomez and Gionta as the cornerstone. Have creative, skilled forwards and have the ability to score a create chances. Goaltending has to be exceptional, defense has to be flawless and need to be disciplined to limit power play chances for Capitals as this would be committing suicide for the Canadiens. Sorry Montreal, not enough to stop the Capitals. Washington wins series 4-1.

New Jersey Devils (2)

Discipline, depth, structure, consistency, goaltending, veteran leadership and experience give the Devils the edge in this series, but the Devils have struggled against the Flyers in the regular season. Have so many moving parts to be a serious contender from Brodeur to Elias to Langenbrunner to the addition of Kovelchuk and one the greatest players and most competitive players in the league in Zack Parise. Always a favorite from management to the coaching staff to the team as a whole. Go Devils!

Philadelphia Flyers (7)

Goaltending has been a concern to the Flyers organization for many years in the past and is currently a concern. Boucher can be shaky and unsure. Pronger, Carle, and the rest of the defense core need to be strong, aggressive and solid and limit quality chances for the Devils or this series will be over quickly. Discipline is key as Hartnell and Carcillo can be liabilities in that category. Have solid leadership from Richards and Pronger. Have good offense and will work and play aggressive, but have been very inconsistent. Coach Peter Laviolette is a great motivator and makes the proper adjustments when needed to give his team a chance. A seven game series can benefit the Flyers and we can expect them to intimidate and physically try and run the Devils down. New Jersey wins series 4-2.

Buffalo Sabres (3)

Can anyone say Adam Miller? The best goalie in the world. Proved it in the 2010 Olympic Games and gave the US an opportunity to repeat the “Miracle On Ice,” but unfortunately came up short. He is the foundation of the team. He is full of confidence, poise, and focus. The most important position during the playoffs because he has the ability to win games on his own he is that good. Okay, enough on Adam! Have an abundance of skill and speed with Pominville, Roy, Vanek, and Connelly. The top players need to be the top players in the playoffs. Have a good structured system that will cause problems for the Bruins.

Boston Bruins (7)

Rask has been exceptional in goal for the Bruins and earned the starting goalie position over Thomas straight out. Chara has to step up and protect his young goaltender and quarter back the back side of the team and dictate along with logging 30 minutes a night. Scoring has been an issue for the offense since Power Play specialist and set up man Marc Savard has been out with a concussion. Need to generate scoring from Ryder, Sturm, Wheeler, Bergeron, Recchi and also Chara. Satan has been a real good addition and came at the right time as Savard went down and he will need to contribute as well with scoring. Have good work ethic and will compete. Need to crash net and get lots of traffic in front of Miller and lots of shots from every angle and test him every chance they can and score dirty goals. Boston wins in 7.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4)

The big question….Can the Pens repeat? The answer is NO. Not many flaws with this line up with the obvious Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Gonchar, Orpik and Fleury, but Fleury has had an average year and I feel it will carry over into the post season and hurt the Penguins. The Penguins have been waiting patiently for this time of year to come and are very anxious to see if they do in fact have what it takes to repeat. Tremendous chemistry surrounds this team which all in all is the key ingredient to a Champion. They have struggled against Eastern division teams this year for whatever reason and especially with their arch rivals, the Washington Capitals. Sounds like the summer was spent by the entire Eastern Conference teams watching game tapes and studying game films on how to figure out and beat the potent Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ottawa Senators (5)

Brian Elliot has been very solid and consistent throughout the year and will take this momentum into the playoffs. On the flip side the team as a whole has been streaky and inconsistent. Spezza and Alfredson along with Fisher and a good defense core with some toughness needs to really bring it and be on top of their games to have a fighting chance against the Stanley Cup Champs. Scoring is not the Senators asset. They will need to continue to play a tough defensive, structured system with great goaltending for a chance in this series. The Sens need to play a patient, conservative game of chess and wait for the Penguins to make their mistake and then capitalize on it. The only way the Ottawa Senators win is if the Penguins beat themselves. Crosby and the Penguins win series 4-1.