NHL Playoffs: Predictions for April 15th

Get your fill of exciting hockey yet? No? Good. Let’s take a look around the NHL Playoffs at the top picks, plays and predictions.

(#3) Red Wings vs (#2) Lightning: I firmly believe that this will be the game that knocks Jimmy Howard out of the starting goaltender role. That is not to say that he played poorly in Game 1, but the Wings need nothing short of greatness every time they step out on the ice. Goal number one was a perfectly placed one-timer over his head under the crossbar. Tough to stop. Goal number two trickled through his five-hole in a netmouth scramble. No good. He was beaten a third time (which was waved offsides) on another one-timer. Then Alex Killorn deflected one in on a cross-ice pass that Howard never had time to react to.

Howard is not being helped by his defenders in front of him, as the Bolts are doing a phenomenal job of opening up passing lanes on zone entries and getting bodies to the blue paint flat quicker than the Wings. But if Howard lets in another three goals tonight, and I believe he will, I think Petr Mrazek will get the call.

The Tampa Bay top line was like a swarm of gnats all game, buzzing in the offensive zone and doing a great job of dancing around defenders that could not keep up. Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist. Alex Killorn had a goal and an assist. Tyler Johnson had a pair of helpers.

If Detroit is going to get on the board this series, it is going to be by taking away Ben Bishop’s eyes. Easier said than done, but the way to beat the hulking goaltender is by getting traffic in the low slot to get deflections and screens. Both of Detroit’s goals came from wonky bounces and deflections.

Tampa will have to do something tonight that they have not done after their last four victories: win a second consecutive game. The home team is now 6-0 in the last six encounters, with the Wings 1-5 in their last six road games overall.

Prediction: Take the Bolts to win Game 2 and throw a lot of doubt in the Wings’ camp. Play the over.

(WC1) Islanders vs (#1) Panthers: How ’bout that John Tavares kid, eh? The Islanders captain shredded Florida defenders left and right for a goal and two assists. The connection with Kyle Okposo looked as strong as it has ever been.

After the Isles took a 5-3 lead, the Florida Panthers looked like a team possessed. A late penalty killed their momentum, but they were peppering Thomas Greiss with everything they had. Florida wound up with 46 shots on goal for the game to the Isles’ 26. Something very noticeable was the Panthers’ play behind the opposing net. They do a fantastic job of shielding the puck and cycling. If they manage to keep their pressure up, they could wear down the Islanders in a situation where they play three games in four days.

This could end up being a very high-scoring series because of the offensive pressure put on by both teams. The over is 8-0-1 in the Panthers’ last nine home games, and 5-0-1 in the Isles’ last six overall.

Prediction: Take the Panthers to win. Play the over.

(#3) Blackhawks vs (#2) Blues: The Blues and Hawks were locked into a stalemate heading into overtime, where David Backes finally broke through to seal a victory for the Blues. The Hawks held the shot-on-goal advantage 35-18, and dominated scoring chances at even strength:

Per War-on-Ice:

Chicago will be getting Duncan Keith back for Game 2. Without him, the Hawks were 0-for-5 on the man advantage. Nik Hjalmarsson and Trevor van Riemsdyk saw major bumps in overall ice time, though only van Riemsdyk saw powerplay time between the two. He had two powerplay points all season.

Getting Keith back will be a major coup for the Hawks if the Blues continue to lack discipline. Giving the Blackhawks five powerplay opportunities when they own the second-best powerplay percentage in the league is a recipe for disaster.

Prediction: Getting Duncan Keith back will propel the Hawks forward. Take Chicago to win. Play the under.

(WC1) Predators vs (#1) Ducks: Tonight will be the first in the Ducks-Predators series. Both teams caught fire in the second half of the season and are led by potent offensive threats.

Filip Forsberg and James Neal will be the duo to watch. The two led the Preds in scoring with 33 and 31 goals, respectively.

Anaheim will be riding their special teams units. Under Bruce Boudreau, they are tops in the league in both powerplay percentage (23.1%) and penalty kill success (87.2%). Ryan Getzlaf is the obvious key to success. He has 37 points in 34 career games against Nashville.

Anaheim is broken, beaten and scarred with the sheer number of people on their injury report. Clayton Stoner and Brandon Pirri will miss tonight’s game. Listed as probable are: David Perron, Rickard Rakell, Sami Vatanen, John Gibson, Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa. They are returning from a variety of ailments ranging from the flu to shoulder soreness to appendicitis.

Neither team has met since November, when the complexion of these two teams were totally different. The home team won in both instances. The home team has won five of the last six meetings.

The over is 5-0 in the last five games in Anaheim.

Prediction: Take Anaheim to win Game 1. Play the over.