Well, well. It’s officially the final day of Round 1 and the first of Round 2. It’s a big night of hockey. Let’s take a look around the NHL Playoffs at the top picks, plays and predictions.
| Islanders vs Lightning ML +144 / -160 O/U 5 |
Predators vs Ducks ML +140 / -155 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
WC1 Islanders vs #2 Lightning: Ironically, the first game of the second round will be played before the final game of the first round tonight. Hooray for convoluted schedules! The Islanders are still rocking and rolling from their double-overtime victory in Game 6 at home against the Florida Panthers. They would have been heading to Florida whether they won or lost that game, seeing as Game 7 would have been in Sunrise. Now, they are heading down to Tampa Bay.
The Lightning took care of the Red Wings in five games. Their penalty killing unit stood out the most, squandering 24 of 25 powerplay opportunities for the Red Wings. And they did so missing two of their biggest penalty killers in Anton Stralman and Steven Stamkos. The series got very physical, but the Lightning took care of business quick before anything too damaging happened.
Josh Bailey suffered an injury in Game 6 and is questionable for tonight’s matchup. If he cannot play, he will likely be replaced by Ryan Strome. The Islanders’ depth forwards have been stellar for them thus far in the playoffs. Shane Prince has been a spark plug on the third line, and linemate Alan Quine had three points including an overtime winner when most people had no idea who Alan Quine was before this series. Not even Howie Rose was entirely sure.
The fourth line of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck had some good chances as well.
Defensemen will be a key factor tonight. Victor Hedman has had some extra time to rest after averaging just over 27 minutes per game in the first round. Nick Leddy averaged 30 minutes per game. While both were highly effective players, the incredibly long series in Brooklyn might wear them down early. I touched on the pros and cons of momentum in my series preview.
And speaking of defensemen, Anton Stralman will likely return at some point this series thanks in large part to the amount of time between the games. It’s only a matter of time.
Prediction: The extra rest will do the Lightning some good in the first installment of this series. Take the Bolts to win on home ice. Play the under.
WC1 Predators vs #1 Ducks: The Nashville Predators managed to stave off elimination with a huge win at home. They now head back to Anaheim with a chance to pull off the upset and knock off one of the best teams in the National Hockey League.
This has to be an incredible disappointment to Anaheim if they don’t come away with the victory. This was a tremendous season for them that followed a horrific start. And there really is not too much that can be done to change things. Can the blame really fall on Bruce Boudreau after leading the team out of the depths and to the top of the Pacific, racking up the best special teams numbers in the league along the way?
Tonight might be the night that Corey Perry rejoins Ryan Getzlaf on the top line. Boudreau has been doing everything in his power to make sure that that does not happen, rotating right wingers alongside Getzlaf and David Perron. Ryan Garbutt is slated to be on the top line tonight. If the Ducks get down early, we could see a reunion.
All the pressure is on Anaheim tonight. Nashville has pushed this series to the brink as the underdogs. They took the first two games in Anaheim. They have rebounded after some demoralizing losses at home. Craig Smith came back for Game 6 and will be in the lineup once more tonight.
And the Ducks have been here before.
They have faced crucial Game 7s before and have come up short. Last year against the Blackhawks. Two years ago against the Kings. Three years ago against the Red Wings.
It might be panic time. For me? I still believe the Ducks will take the victory. Frederik Andersen has still been phenomenal at even strength. Home ice has to count for something. And I simply cannot believe that an entire organization can collapse in on itself simply because it is a Game 7 after the year they have had.
Prediction: Take the Ducks to win the series. Play the under. This will be a one-goal game.
